Time had gone by at a snail's pace before William had come home, but now it seemed to be going by in the blink of an eye. Three months had gone by much too fast, and Vanny was desperately clinging to every moment; keeping it near and dear to her heart.
Springtrap didn't look the same as he had when she found him in the slightest. The rotten rabbit now looked practically new, even though his body was lined with stitches. His fur was soft and no longer stunk; his legs were fully operational once again, and many of his other broken parts had been repaired or replaced. Vanny was a fast learner, and with William guiding her through every step of repairing his robotics, she had caught on fast. The inner workings of the suit made perfect sense to her, now. She had to learn quite a lot about them to help fix him, and she had done so without a second thought. He had given her blueprints to the suit, explaining how each and every piece of machinery worked and functioned. His exposed metal legs had been covered with new fur, and his feet were good as new. Black claws were barely visible through the fuzz on his toes, but they were somewhat noticeable. His missing ear remained the same, though. Vanny had patched the fur there, but he didn't want it to be replaced. It served no real function, and Vanny had a strong feeling that he thought it looked cool.
She couldn't argue, though. She had grown used to seeing him with half an ear, and she found it rather cute if she were being honest.
Life was actually somewhat… normal. Vanny had someone around for once, and her sanity seemed to be fairly stable. She was functioning much better than she had in years, and when she made trips into town, she found herself being a lot happier and friendlier in general.
With the car gone, she had to ride a bike whenever she went for grocery runs. It wasn't a terribly long ride, but it was tiring nonetheless. She had been asked about the stitches when she was being rung up at the grocery store one day by one of the employees. Blaming the injury on a dog was seemingly good enough for the ignorant public, but nobody really interacted with her otherwise. No questions had been asked about the car that had been driven into Fazbear's Fright. Either it had been burnt beyond any hope of identifying it, or Clay had simply had enough of suspecting Vanny for crimes and decided to drop it. Vanny was certain that the first reason was much more plausible.
Today was a rainy, terrible day. Thunder rolled in the distance, and an oncoming storm told Vanny that she'd be staying inside that afternoon. She pulled the dishes from the sink where she had been washing them and put them away, then happily bounced into the living room. Springtrap was lazing about on the floor, lying flat on his back. His neck was in an odd position that would have been impossible for a human, but it was perfectly comfortable for him. He was staring out the window, watching as the sky darkened and the trees shook and trembled in the wind. Birds were flying around in a panic, searching for cover from the oncoming storm. Vanny slowly lowered herself to sit on the rabbit's chest. He had heard her coming but only acknowledged her with a small hum. Vanny looked out the window, following his gaze. Lightning flashed in the distance, making both Vanny and the rabbit below her perk up in interest.
"It looks like it's going to be bad." Springtrap hummed. Vanny laid down on top of him, nodding in agreement. She had nowhere to be, so the storm was free to come and flood the ditches and any unfortunate basements that it wished to seep into. After theirs had flooded a few years back in William's absence, Vanny had made sure to get it completely fixed. There was no chance of another indoor swimming pool for them. Vanny rolled off of him and onto her stomach on the floor. She shuffled closer to him, pressing against him as she gazed out the window. The rabbit leaned closer to the woman, pressing his cheek against her own. The floor beneath them shook as thunder rolled outside. It was relaxing to Vanny, but the sound brought back bad memories for Springtrap.
He was by no means afraid of the thunder, but that sound was one of the last things he heard before he died in the suit he now called his body. He turned to Vanny, looking at the scar on her cheek with a gentle, sad stare. Vanny looked over to him as he rolled onto his stomach. His tail wagged lazily behind him as he gazed out the window with her, fixated on the darkness that consumed the sky.
"You still like storms, don't you?" He asked her softly. Vanny gave an affirmative nod.
"And you?" She asked back. The rabbit paused for a moment, clearly thinking the question over.
"I like them, yes." he finally replied. His tail had stilled, and his eyes seemed distant now.
"It was storming that night, though. That was one of the reasons the spring locks failed."
"The water?" Vanny asked softly. William had shown her the blueprints as promised and had explained to her what would happen when a spring lock failure occurred.
The look of pure terror on her face would forever be burnt into his memory. It was a little amusing to him.
An apology was currently on the tip of Vanny's tongue, but she had already apologized far too much after getting him back. It got out of hand to the point that he had to tell her to stop.
He assured her that all was well now and that she couldn't have stopped him from going to Freddy's even if she would have woken up that night. "Drop it." He had told her one night, and she did.
Springtrap was watching her from the corner of his eye. He could see her debating on apologizing before deciding against it and closing her mouth. He relaxed a little and looked back out at the sky. He didn't need her constantly apologizing to him for something that wasn't her fault. He was to blame and no one else. Vanny had better things to do than spend the rest of her life rambling apologies to him.
The woman shuffled closer to him, pressing herself against his fluffy side. It was soft and cool and it didn't give her the heat that his skin used to have. This new body lacked his warmth. It lacked his old voice, yet the voice he had was still his. She could still hear it somewhere in his new voice; his old one was still in there. This new voice would never fail to calm her. Part of her missed the feeling of his scarred skin that she'd never again feel against her own. Instead of warm skin, she now snuggled against golden fur. She had instantly fallen in love with the way his fur felt against her skin; especially on her cheeks. Snuggling into him quickly became one of her favorite things to do. She would never again feel the soft touch of his lips on hers, but that was alright. She had William back and he was hers, and she was his. Nobody was going to take him away from her ever again. Vanny snuggled into the side of the animatronic's chest and closed her eyes as his big, fuzzy arms wrapped around her side, pulling her against him in a tight hug. Vanny felt loved.
Springtrap would never leave her; though she never called him by that name. She had heard people murmuring about the robot occasionally when she went into town and how it had wandered out of the building, carrying a dead body in its arms and wielding an axe.
The talk was dismissed by most reasonable people; an old pizzeria animatronic wouldn't be smart enough to even use an axe, let alone set the building on fire to escape. Despite Clay's orders to keep quiet, some of his officers had opened their mouths. They had searched for the robot, but found nothing. The inside of the pizzeria was charred, leaving behind no evidence besides a burnt, run-down car. The owner of Fazbear's Fright had cried foul play, and an investigation was launched. The security guard had insisted that someone had set up fireworks outside to lure him out to gain access inside before setting the place on fire. A stray firework had injured the man, and so he had left the scene to seek help. Nothing ever came of the mysterious case, but most people came to assume that someone set the place on fire. The car was most likely used to gain access through the front doors, but not all the pieces fit together. The police had been very shaken up from what they had seen crawl into the woods that night, though only four of them had actually seen Springtrap themselves. Clay knew something was amiss, but nothing could be proven. No rabbit woman was ever found, and any evidence had burnt up with the pizzeria. There hadn't been much left to pilfer through, just charred robot parts and arcade machines.
Vanny had quickly realized that the 'corpse' that the animatronic was carrying out was her, and the axe he was dragging along was hers. The ex-employees of the attraction hadn't been able to keep their mouths shut much like the police, so word had gotten out that the rabbit had proclaimed its name was 'Springtrap.' When Vanny got home the night she had learned all of this, she had met William with a playful yet cocky grin. "I'm back, Springtrap." She had announced with a small snicker.
The animatronic gave her a glare even though he wasn't truly angry with her.
"The spring locks trapped me. This suit is a death trap," He had shot back at her in defense of himself; explaining the origin of his little nickname. Vanny simply shook her head with a grin and turned to put the groceries away.
Thunder growled louder, now, jerking Vanny out of her thoughts. Springtrap glanced at her when she jumped but didn't say a word. He perked his ears up, and cocked his head sideways curiously. Vanny let out a tired sigh and clutched onto one of his hands. She rubbed her thumb along the back of it, feeling the fur that she had worked so hard to keep clean.
"My father would lock me downstairs during thunderstorms." she finally said.
Springtrap's smile vanished instantly. "...What?"
He had always known that Vanny's father wasn't the best, but she had never spoken much about her life before fleeing to Hurricane.
Vanny averted her gaze and bit her bottom lip. She needed to keep her mouth shut.
It was one of the many things that had gotten her into trouble when she was younger.
"Why?" Springtrap growled out. Vanny shook her head and turned to look at him, attempting and failing to hide the tears forming in her eyes. She refused to cry, though. She had sworn she'd never cry over that piece of garbage again; that man had made his choice long ago.
"That's what I'm still asking." She shakily said as she exhaled. Springtrap winced and pulled her closer, rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to calm her.
"You know he's gone, Sweetheart. He can't hurt you."
Vanny's father had died after William had vanished, leaving all of his possessions to her.
She took the money but kept none of his belongings. She didn't even go out of state to search through the house; there was nothing for her there. She had promised herself that she'd never set foot in that house ever again. While her father hadn't been a rich man, he had quite a bit of money at the time of his death. The money had allowed Vanny to completely seclude herself for eight years, never leaving the house to work or converse with normal people.
There was no need to work, so she hadn't
"I know," Vanny said finally. The use of 'Sweetheart' still made her a little uncomfortable at times, but William meant no harm by it. He only wanted to comfort her.
Her father was dead, and unlike Will, he wasn't coming back in an animatronic suit anytime soon. Vanny laid in silence for a while, listening to the falling rain and thunder. Death had always surrounded her, it seemed. Death was always peering over her shoulder, taking away both people she brought to it, and those that she knew personally. Death had claimed her father, and she was thankful for that. Death had failed to take William, though. Whether it was actually because of how traumatic his death was or not, she probably wouldn't ever know.
One way or another, Will had cheated death. He was dead, yet he wasn't.
His robotic body would never wear out as long as he had access to the robotic parts he could easily make in the comfort of his own home. Vanny would always be there to keep his fur nice and clean, and the seclusion of the quaint little farmhouse allowed him to even go outside whenever he pleased.
He was immortal, and Vanny wasn't.
Her body ached and hurt in ways it never used to. Her skin wasn't quite as soft as it had been when they first met; time was wearing her down. She was by no means on the brink of death, but death was coming for her. Vanny laid beside the creature, gazing out at the trees as they lost leaves to the harsh wind. She was going to die. William was going to live forever, and it was going to be her turn to leave William behind. She sat up to sit, then leaned on the rabbit next to her, holding onto his neck tight. Springtrap let out a small purr as his tail began wagging behind him. He was blissfully unaware of Vanny's growing fear of death. A few tears slipped down Vanny's cheek as she clutched onto the oblivious rabbit a little tighter.
Vanny didn't sleep much that night. Springtrap was curled comfortably in bed beside her, sleeping soundly through the thunderstorm. She was wide awake, though. The storm wasn't what had her shaken up. Thoughts of death were filling her mind and preventing her from sleeping. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about all that had happened in the past three months. Her wildest dreams had come true, even if they didn't look like she had imagined them.
William wasn't flesh and blood anymore, but he was still himself, and that's all she had asked for. Vanny remained still and silent, listening to the soft breathing beside her and the rain on the roof. She sat up slowly, being careful not to wake Will. Her eyes glued onto her arms, and she silently traced her fingers along them. They were pale and smooth; barren of any scars or injury.
William's skin had been decorated with scars from the suit he now wore, and Vanny now knew how close his brush with death had truly been. The spring lock failure that had scarred him occurred long before Vanny ever set foot in Hurricane; William had still been alive and happy along with his family. Vanny looked over at the rabbit for a moment before clambering out of bed. She crept through the bedroom as quietly as she possibly could, then trudged through the hallway.
She made her way into the kitchen, making a beeline for the table. It was cluttered with a few boxes of robotic parts and blueprints that they had been using to fix him. Vanny grabbed onto the blueprint of Springtrap's anatomy. She stared for a long time, taking it all in.
The spring locks were in clear sight, and Vanny shuddered at the thought of actually climbing into one of those death traps. Why had William ever thought making them was a good idea?
She supposed he had paid for it dearly. Vanny rolled the blueprint up neatly and then turned, heading towards the basement. The door was right off the kitchen. The door was old and the cream paint was peeling, but what lay downstairs was far scarier than a scuffed up door. She flipped the light on at the top of the stairs and then began her descent. Vanny made her way down the stairs into the thankfully dry basement. Several shelves of junk lined the walls, and several sets of eyes stared her down.
Lifeless grins and broken smiles greeted her, waiting patiently to be assigned to a body as a replacement or a new creation altogether. Vanny hesitated at the last step, staring at the robotic parts in silence. She had never feared them, but after retrieving William from that inferno, she had come to be a little wary of anything resembling the forms that those kids took.
With a shudder, the woman turned her back on the piles of junk and headed towards a small work desk. There were boxes stacked on the wooden surface; most of which were filled with blueprints of William's ideas, some of which had never made it out of the basement. She flipped through them all, taking in all there was to see. There was the fox, the bear, the chicken, and the rabbit. She eyed the Bonnie blueprints for a moment before pulling them to the side and setting them with the Spring Bonnie one she had drug down here with her. She continued to pilfer through the designs, ignoring many of them. There were odd humanoid ones she had never had the displeasure of seeing; she wasn't even sure if they had been completed or not. She froze when she came across a wide, permanent grin. She quickly shoved the blueprint away, then returned her attention to the pile. Where was it? She knew that he still had…
There it was. A smiling, bucktooth face grinned up at her, stuck forever to the confines of the blueprint. The blue rabbit's blueprint was quickly snatched up, and then all the other blueprints were returned to the box. The only three that remained out were Bonnie's, Spring Bonnie's and Toy Bonnie's. She needed a lot of references. She quietly tucked the three blueprints away on a separate shelf, and then began to head back upstairs. When she looked up, however, she froze in place. At the top of the stairs in the darkness of the kitchen, a tall figure lingered in silence.
Two white pinpricks stared her down, silent and motionless.
Vanny brought a hand to her chest and gasped, stumbling and falling down the couple of stairs she had already climbed up. Her heart was racing, and her entire body shook. It had seen her; the goddamn thing had definitely seen her.
"WILLIAM!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
"What?! What?!" His voice came instantly. The rabbit flew down the stairs and into the light; his eyes were blown wide and he looked prepared to gut an intruder.
"Jesus fucking Christ." Vanny closed her eyes and panted, lying back on the cold, dirty concrete floor as her tense body relaxed. Springtrap was hovering over her instantly, clearly concerned for her, considering she had fallen backward down the stairs.
"You can't- you can't fucking sneak up on me like that. Jesus-..." Vanny sucked in deep breaths, attempting to calm her racing heart. Her relief faded as quickly as it had come, though.
That doll… it had appeared as Springtrap before… Vanny sat up slowly and looked up at the rabbit. He watched her curiously but didn't say a word; he knew she was about to speak.
"Are we still going to visit my father next weekend?" She asked.
The rabbit stared down at her in silence. He looked… extremely baffled. His eyes were locked onto her, and it made Vanny shrink in on herself a little.
"What in the fuck are you talking about?" He finally growled.
Vanny relaxed and pushed herself up to her feet. Springtrap helped her up and eyed her as she steadied herself. He was looking for any injuries. Her elbows were scraped up a little, but otherwise, she was completely fine.
"Did you hit your head?" He growled in a firm but concerned voice. Vanny shook her head no. It was him... Nobody else knew a thing about her father, and she had a feeling that if this was that Puppet, it would have gone along with whatever she said.
"No- I just…" Springtrap stared at her, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he began to grow worried. Vanny noticed the concerned expression on his face.
"I didn't know if it was you." She admitted sheepishly. Springtrap nodded; he knew the abilities that Charlie had gained in her afterlife; he didn't blame Vanny for doubting that it was him at first. They had no reason to believe that the Puppet survived that fire, but they had every right to be worried. Springtrap was well aware that Puppet had taken his form to torment Vanny and he now realized what had startled her so bad. She wasn't afraid of him; she was afraid that he was Charlie.
"What are you doing down here?" He finally questioned softly. Vanny pulled herself against him in a tight hug. What could she possibly say to explain her snooping?
She had an idea suddenly, and she was going to go with it.
"Do you remember that cop I told you about? The one that showed up to question me about you?" She asked softly. The rabbit nodded.
"I want him dead," Vanny said flatly. Springtrap pulled away from her and stared down at her with a soft gaze. He seemed a little excited at the idea of getting blood on his hands again.
"When? Do you know where he lives?" The rabbit asked as he smiled with a wide, toothy grin. His tail was wagging excitedly, and under different circumstances, Vanny would have been gushing about how cute it was but she was entirely too focused on the task at hand to notice.
"I don't want to kill him with my axe, Will. I want to kill him in a slow, horrible way."
The rabbit's excitement visibly grew. "Torture, then?"
Vanny leaned against him. "This cop caused me a lot of trouble and grief. He's the reason that Hurricane hates me. He spread the rumors about me killing you."
Springtrap slowly turned his head to the side; his white pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, and he seemed to be spacing out. If he were a dog, he would have been drooling in anticipation.
"I want to kill him in a horrible, painful, slow way." She traced her fingers down his chest fur, feeling over his stitches carefully. One of her hands slid up to rest behind the rabbit's good ear, and she began rubbing it gently. Springtrap bent down lower, giving Vanny better access to his sensitive ears. "Any way you want, Vanny." The rabbit purred out blissfully. Her free hand cupped his cheek, and she gazed into his barely visible pupils.
"Let's build a suit." She whispered out.
The rabbit's eyes grew impossibly wider. He had never considered such a cruel death for someone he hated, but having experienced it himself, the thought of having someone who had caused his lover trouble dying inside of a spring lock suit was beyond exciting.
"Yes." He purred. He was putty in Vanny's soft, sinful hands.
"Anything for you, darling." He hissed out with a grin.