yOU GUYS I GOT THE SILVER EYES FOR CHRISTMAS I CAN FINALLY READ IT
I ALSO GOT A SHIRT WITH A PICTURE OF THE ANIMATRONICS ON IT I'M SO HAPPY
I GOT FOUR BOOKS THIS YEAR THIS IS FUCKING GREAT
i also got a sweater that says "kinda don't care" on it which literally sums up my entire existence tbh
Chapter 32
*December 7th*
Chica loved the decorations, but she wasn't too sure about the snow.
Mangle was hanging from the rafters, stringing sparkling blue tinsel along the ceiling, while Tonnie stood on a ladder and hung paper snowflakes along the strings. Mari and BB sat in their Prize Corner, putting plushes and candy in boxes and wrapping them in shiny silver paper. Foxy, Bonnie, and Teddy had taken down the purple curtains of Pirate's Cove and were replacing them with red and green striped ones that Raina had made the week prior, while Freddy and Springtrap did the same with the tablecloths. Tia was off decorating the party rooms with Raina, Mike, and Jeremy. Zoe and Fritz were blowing up red, white, and green balloons with helium, and Vincent and Scott were decorating a large fake tree against the far wall dining room. They'd all stayed after work to decorate, and with Christmas carols blaring from a stereo someone had set on the stage, everyone was in the Christmas spirit. Even Vincent seemed a little less grumpy and distant than usual. Chica thought she might have even seen him smile a couple of times.
But unfortunately, she and Goldie were stuck outside.
Goldie shivered in his thin dress shirt and waistcoat as he stared longingly through the window. "Why did we have to get stuck with this job?"
Chica nodded, lifting a box with her numb hands. "I know. The only two animatronics who can feel cold get sent outside in the freezing snow to decorate. Perfect."
To be fair, Amber's voice butted in, they don't know you can feel.
Goldie rolled his eyes. "Like that makes it any more enjoyable."
During the weeks since Halloween, Chica had helped Goldie deal with the voices and the new dreams. He seemed to get used to it pretty quickly, and Chica and Goldie found out that they could also talk each other how the voices talked to them. They could be standing across from each other in a room full of people and hear each other in their heads as clear as day. It wasn't a very useful skill, as they could do that by emailing or calling the other with their smartphone-like software, but it was a much quicker and a lot more reliable.
Chica held the box out to Goldie. "I think this is the last of it."
Goldie reached into the box and pulled out a string of LED lights. Chica set down the empty box. She grabbed the end of the coil, slipped a roll of tape off her arm, and taped the lights to the wall. Goldie held the lights around the doorframe while Chica went around, taping them to the wall. Goldie got to the end of the coil and opened a case in the wall, revealing a power outlet. He plugged in the lights, and they lit up in a bunch of different colours.
Chica stepped back. She would love to admire her handiwork, but she was freezing and wanted to get inside as soon as possible.
It looks nice though, Yellow Green observed.
Can't we stay out here a little bit longer? Blue whined.
"With all due respect," Chica sighed, "you're not the ones freezing their butts off in -30 weather." She picked up the empty box and pushed open the doors, letting Goldie in before she closed them.
She tossed the box onto a pile of other empty boxes and sat down at one of the tables, trying not to shiver from the lingering cold. She looked up at all her friends and decided that, despite the cold weather, she really liked Christmastime. Everyone was joking and laughing, no matter how much they usually hated each other. Bonnie was helping Tonnie and Mangle hang paper snowflakes from the ceiling, Foxy was chatting with Freddy as he helped him and Spring set up the tables, and Teddy was carrying a bunch of wrapping paper over to Mari and BB in the Prize Corner. Mike, Jeremy, Raina, and Tia had just finished decorating the party rooms and were now hanging coloured baubles on the tree with Vincent and Scott.
Chica felt a smile spread across her face. She couldn't wait until Christmas Day.
xXx
*Christmas*
Fritz was surprised when Vincent let him and Scott have the night off.
"You guys deserve it," he'd said the day before. "Besides, it's Christmas. You shouldn't have to work during the holidays. I'll take the night shift tomorrow. Heck, I'll take it tonight too. You guys just go home."
Apparently, he'd let all the guards on the day shift off work too, because the pizzeria wasn't even open that day. Fritz didn't have much family to visit, and the relatives he did have were all back in Canada, so he'd decided to visit the animatronics for Christmas. He had made them, so technically he was their dad, which made them family (sort of).
He pulled up to the animatronics house in his dark red car and saw Zoe's pickup truck in the driveway. What was she doing here? Didn't she have family to visit?
He popped open the trunk of his car and grabbed twelve wrapped up boxes. It was difficult, carrying them all to the house, but some of them were small, which made it easier. At least they weren't all big presents. That would have made it much harder.
Fritz had some difficulty opening the door, but after a couple of tries he was able to turn the knob and push it open. "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" he yelled as he entered the living room.
"HEY FRITZ!" a chorus of fourteen voices greeted him. He set the presents down on the floor next to where Chica and Goldie were sitting cross-legged, sipping hot chocolate. He didn't know why they even bothered drinking anything. It's not like they could taste it anyway. He didn't comment on it however, and instead shucked off his coat and tuque. "So how's everybody's first Christmas going?"
"Mom got me a yo-yo!" BB shouted excitedly, showing off his new toy. It dangled uselessly from his hand; he obviously hadn't gotten the hang of it yet.
He looked up at Zoe and Raina, who were both curled up together on the couch in a blanket. "Merry Christmas, Fritz," Raina said. "Come join us. We've got hot chocolate." She nodded at a pitcher of hot water, some empty mugs, and some packets of chocolate powder on the coffee table.
Since there was no room on the couch, Fritz sat down on the floor in between Mari and Mangle. "So, what did Zoe get you guys?" he asked the animatronics, filling up a mug with hot water and grabbing a couple packets of chocolate powder.
"I got a kite for when it's springtime again," Chica said, pointing to an open box next to the TV.
"I got a toboggan!" Tia piped up. She was currently sitting on her gift next to the couch.
Freddy held up a novel from where he sat next to Zoe on the couch. "Goldie, Mari, and I each got books. I got these ones called Harry Potter, Goldie got The Hunger Games, and Mari got a bunch of Chinese comics."
"They're Japanese," Mari corrected, "but they're printed in English, and they're called 'manga'. Uncle Jeremy told me about it, and it sounded interesting, so I wanted to try reading them."
"Cool," Fritz commented. He looked to his left at Mangle and Tonnie. "What about you two?"
"We got colouring books and crayons," Tonnie answered, holding up his present. The colouring book was open to a picture of a rabbit. It was coloured bright blue with green eyes, like his own. He had failed to stay within the lines of the picture, but he looked quite proud of his work.
"Mom couldn't afford to get me, Bonnie, and Foxy anything," Teddy said, "but Auntie Raina got us an Xbox."
"Of course, Foxy can't hold a controller," Bonnie mused, looking at Foxy's hook.
Zoe shrugged under her blanket. "I'll build him a detachable hand sometime."
"What did you get, Spring?" Fritz asked, turning to Springtrap, who was sitting on the couch next to Raina and busily scribbling in a sketchbook with coloured pencils. She absently held up the sketchbook and went back to drawing.
Fritz nodded. "Nice. So, how's your first Christmas been?" He looked around the room, directing the question at all the animatronics.
"I really like these books," Goldie said, picking one of them off the floor. "And the hot chocolate is great."
"You can't even taste it," Foxy scoffed.
Goldie blinked, confused. Then he inhaled sharply. "Ah, right. That isn't a thing I can do, obviously, because I'm an animatronic."
Chica shot him a glance. "It's still kinda useful though. Like, if you're having a conversation with someone and you're not sure how to reply, you can just take a drink to give a few more seconds to think of something to say. It's kinda handy."
BB's voice suddenly piped up. "Hey guys, look!"
Fritz turned towards him. BB flicked his wrist, and his new yo-yo whipped out, the string wrapping itself around BB's opposite finger, the yo-yo landing perfectly on the taut string, still spinning. He looked up at the others proudly.
Fritz applauded politely. "Nice."
"How'd you do that?" Mari asked, gazing at the toy in wonder.
"I Googled it," BB replied, twirling the yo-yo back into its original position.
"I used to have a yo-yo when I was younger," Raina said. "I could never really get the hang of it though."
"Hey, who wants to go outside?" Tia called out. She was standing by the door, her new toboggan tucked under one arm. Mangle and Tonnie immediately dropped their colouring books and excitedly followed Tia into the snow. BB forgot all about his yo-yo and rushed after them.
Fritz smiled as he watched the animatronics run outside and play in the snow. For once, he wasn't thinking about Vincent's odd behaviour or his and Zoe's plans at all.
IGNORE THE CRAPPY CHAPTER ENDING
HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS
OR A HAPPY HANUKAH
OR WHATEVER YOU DO OR DON'T CELEBRATE
K BYE