They go with Henry's idea first, since William has to save enough to actually pay for the shopping trip.

It's odd, seeing someone like William walking around a mechanic's shop. He looks completely out of place with the car parts and oil stained floors. Maybe he should've suggested an outfit change, but it's too late now. He just hopes William doesn't get too mad if his clothes are ruined.

"Here he is." Henry announces. He grabs Fredbear by the chest plate and pulls it into the center of the room. With the springlocks activated, it's much heavier, but it also keeps it's form better than as a suit. "It was made with my proportions in mind, but you should still be able to fit. Your eyes might not line up with the eye holes, though. But hey, that's why we test things." Henry grabs the crank from the side and sets it up.

"Wait, I'll be inside of that thing?!"

Henry hides his smile. "Sure will!"

"How-" William stops when the springlocks start pulling back. Henry doesn't stop cranking them away until they're finally snapped into place along the edges of the suit and then, once he's sure they won't come out again, he disconnects the crank and begins taking off the individual pieces.

"We'll start from the bottom and go up." He talks without really listening for an answer. Picking up Fredbear's feet and legs, Henry turns back to William, who still looks shocked at the whole display. Henry waits for a moment, but when it becomes clear he won't get any kind of answer, he moves forward. "Take off your shoes. They won't fit."

William nods absently and sits on a nearby stool to take his shoes off. Henry lets him keep the socks on -he doesn't really want Fredbear to already start smelling like feet. It's only once Henry's kneeling down and gently holding the back of William's foot that he realizes how strange this is. He looks up sheepishly. "I, uh, I would let you do this yourself but you don't exactly know how to. And I don't want the springlocks to jump back or anything, so it's best if-

"Do whatever you need. Just don't make it weird." William looks away from him, obviously embarrassed as well.

"Right." Henry nods. Just don't make it weird.

Still gentle as every, Henry slips the first suit foot on, then the other. It takes a bit of pressure and William gives him a look once they're on, but he doesn't out right complain. "It's a bit small but I can live with it." William says, turning his foot from side to side. It's kind of funny to watch but Henry doesn't laugh. That would be the fastest way to lose his only willing test subject.

Henry grabs the leg parts next, but then he stops. "You said it's not too bad?" William nods. "Good, because I just realized these go on last." He pulls the feet off again, less gentle this time, and sets them aside.

"What?! Why would you put them on them?!"

"I haven't done this before!" Henry raises his hands in defense. "I wrote it all down but I don't have that paper with me right now. Just bear with me, okay? You still promised me an hour." They stare at each other for a moment and William rolls his eyes.

"I swear you're just trying to make me look stupid." The man mutters and Henry ignores it. Instead, he runs through what does go first and grabs the hip part.

He stands up, now confident that he's doing this right. "This will probably be easier if you stand." He suggests and William does as he's told. He does eye the part questioningly but Henry's already kneeling again to put it on. He slides it up William's legs and up to his hips, only stopping for a moment to make sure it's on correctly. It's loose, but he can handle that.

But now he's faced with a different issue.

Henry tries to stay calm, he really does. He tries to ignore the fact his face is right in front of William's crotch and that he's touching basically every part of him that isn't that. He tries to keep the touching to a minimum, but then the hip part starts to fall off and he has to go back to square one. Why did he suggest this? Why didn't he just take them bowling or something? Literally anything else but this!

"Sorr-"

"Don't say anything." William snaps immediately. Henry looks up and he sees just how red the man is now. His entire face is bright red and Henry wonders if they should just stop. Maybe this is too much. He should test the suit on himself instead and let William save his dignity.

But then Henry finally finds the clip and he sighs in relief. He pulls it up and attaches it to William's pants. Once everything's secured, Henry lets go, overjoyed when the part stays in place. Alright. He can do the rest.

The legs are easier, though, it's still very strange to feel William's muscles move under Henry's light touch. But it all goes ignored and once Fredbear's feet are back over William's, Henry stands up. He pops his back, wincing at the jolt of pain it causes, then grabs the chest piece. He looks back to William and realizes the problem.

"Um...could you lean over?" William gives him a questioning look before doing as he's told. "No, like...in front. Bend at the waist with your arms out. Yeah!" Henry easily slides the chest piece over both of the man's arms and head. Once they're resting at his shoulders, he stands up again and Henry looks at the gap between hip part and chest piece.

There's about an inch of exposed shirt and Henry chews at his lip. He has an idea, but he really doesn't want to go through this again.

"Is it too heavy?" Henry asks, his eyes going to William's for the first time since they started this. The man's still flushing, but it's faded a bit.

"The chest part?" Henry nods. "No. It's fine."

"Good, because I'm going to adjust some stuff and it might get heavier." With that warning, Henry goes back to the hip piece and unclips it from William's pants. He immediately feels the weight of both legs and with some effort, re-clips it onto the torso part. Henry can see the way it suddenly pulls at William's shoulders, but the man doesn't say anything. He shifts a little but that's basically it.

Good. This is good. None of the springlocks have threatened to go off yet, which was his biggest concern. And once the arms are in place with just as much success, Henry takes a step back and smiles at his work. It looks like a real mascot suit. Well, aside from the head, but he wasn't intending on putting that part on anyway. He still has yet to finish the padding for it and he doesn't want to give William any more bruises on his face.

"I feel ridiculous." William deadpans and Henry just laughs. "What is the point in this anyway? This can't be a simple project."

Henry's laugh dies down. He hasn't really told anyone but his family about this. And even then, it was just a simple idea for a random school assignment. But William did ask, so...

"It's an animatronic." Henry starts but pauses when William still looks confused. "Um, animatronics are basically robots used for entertainment. I want...I wanted to open a restaurant with my family. My mom loves to bake and my dad is really good with a grill. I'm more of a pizza guy myself, but I'm not super great at making them, so I wanted to build this instead. It's something to entertain the guests."

William gives him a look, then touches the parts of the suit. "I still don't understand. Why make it double as a suit if you wanted an animatronic?"

"Well, animatronics are pretty limited in what they can do. I haven't even started programming Fredbear yet, but...I don't know. I thought the idea was cool and it could save us a lot of money. We wouldn't have to buy a separate suit that might look completely different from the actual robot, you know?"

To Henry's surprise, William nods in understanding. "That's a fair point." His eyes suddenly light up. "You would be able to personally interact with guests while in the suit, but you wouldn't have to be there at all times. It sounds like a good idea for a family diner. When would you want to start this?"

"Oh, um..." Henry gives a nervous smile, his eyes going down to the floor, then Fredbear's head. "I don't know. I haven't really set a date or anything. Just...eventually."

William's face falls. "Has no one told you how to achieve goals? If you really want this diner to work then you have to act on it. Set a budget, find a lot and all that sort. Take a business class."

Henry grimaces at the idea, but he knows he will have to eventually. Even if his parents are experienced in business, he can't rely on them alone. This is his idea and he's the one who's going to make it happen. "Um...let me get the suit off of you." He says, quickly moving to pull at the parts. He doesn't know how heavy it is, but he shouldn't leave William there for too long.

Once the suit is off and reassembled as Fredbear, William looks at it for a moment. "Could you show me what it does? As an animatronic I mean."

"Oh, it doesn't really...do anything yet. Like I said, I still have to code it and program some songs, but...maybe I'll show you once it's done."

William looks unsatisfied by the answer, but he accepts it anyway. As he starts pulling on his shoes again, Henry wonders when he'll be able to present this idea to his parents. Now isn't a good time, but maybe when the tension clears.

If it ever does.

A week later, William pulls Henry out of bed early for their dreaded shopping trip. The man is way too excited for it and although he doesn't really show it, it's obvious in the way he pulls Henry along. It's like a physical barrier has been broken between them and William no longer hesitates to grab his arm and push his shoulders. It's kind of annoying, but Henry lives with it.

They don't go to the mall like Henry assumed they would. No, they end up in some fancy suit shop. William leads the way through the different sections, his eyes calculating as he looks at different things. Henry tries to hide behind him, feeling very underdressed, but that's also the whole point of this trip.

"Hm...the color might be nice." William says to himself, then offering it to Henry. "What do you think?"

Henry stares at it. "Um...it's green." He has no clue what looks good and what doesn't! He never thought a white turtle neck would go with a purple vest, but William seems to pull it off just fine!

William rolls his eyes and adds the jacket to the growing pile in his arms. "Oh, nevermind." He sigh, then continues down the line.

It's incredibly boring for a long time, but eventually, they get to the dressing rooms and William sets the pile inside of one, instead of letting Henry touch them. Rude. "Try these on one at a time. I want to see how they fit and if the colors work with your complexation. I've never worked with tanner skin before, so I'm unfortunately experimenting."

Fair enough. Henry closes the door and looks at the pile, feeling like he's about to take an exam he didn't study for.

It's weird, trying on different items of clothing with his normal outfit. He feels like a doll with mismatched styles every single time, but William somehow manages to find a conclusion from it. He turns Henry back each time, telling him to set something side and to keep others. For the life of him, he can't find a pattern to it. By the time Henry throws on the green suit jacket and steps out, he's decided that fashion is a dark magic.

William walks up to him, his hands pulling and tugging on the jacket like he's done every time. Henry stopped asking for his thoughts a while ago, when he never got an answer. Now, he just stands there and waits.

"This is good, but it can't go with the pants." William looks at him for another moment, before sighing. "Stay here. I'll go find something that might match." He disappears back into the store, leaving Henry to guard William's discarded vest. He holds it carefully, still not sure if he should change back. He doesn't want to take up a whole dressing room if he won't be using it right now.

After several minutes, Henry decides he better sit down. William obviously won't be back for a while and he's already tired of standing around. Henry sets the vest over his lap, but pauses when he feels something in the pocket. At first, he thinks it's a wallet, but this feels too rectangular. He's about to leave it alone but after another minute, Henry's boredom wins out.

He pulls out a cigarette box. It's light and when he looks inside, he finds that there's only one inside. He closes it again, then carefully slides the box back into place, pretending like he never saw it.

It shouldn't be surprising. A lot of people smoke, especially non-religious people. But he can't quite get over the fact that he never saw William as someone who smokes. He seems too...clean? Too particular for that sort of thing. He never smells like smoke and Henry doesn't really know what a high person might look like, but...he just never thought about it.

Henry tries not to look at the vest, tries to keep his mind on something else, but there's nothing else to really think about. Why is it so surprising? It doesn't really change the way he looks at his roommate, but then why is he so focused? Is he really this bothered by it?

"I think I've found just the thing." Henry jumps at William's voice. He feels his stomach twist, like he's done something he shouldn't have. "Here, try this one."

He speaks before he can stop himself. "I didn't know you smoke." The floor looks particularly interesting right now.

"I don't." William sounds genuinely confused but Henry still can't look up. He's going to break their truce. They'll start fighting again because he couldn't keep his hands to himself, but he's too far in now to back out. His mouth is already moving.

"Then why do you have a pack in your vest?"

It's snatched away quickly and Henry chews on his lip, feeling worse than before. "Just try that on." William says, sounding impatient and Henry does as he's told without another word. It's only once he's alone in the dressing room that he realizes how selfish that was.

They go through a few more outfit choices before William eventually settles on something. They don't make much conversation and it weighs on Henry's shoulders the whole way back to the dorm. He tries to keep his face light, tries to pretend like he didn't just overstep a huge boundary. He should apologize, but every time it rises to the tip of his tongue, he swallows it down again. He can't bring himself to talk about it again, too afraid he'll mess things up even worse.

But as William pulls him onto his bed -Henry realizes that he's never actually sat on William's bed before- and starts brushing Henry's hair with gentle strokes, it finally becomes too much.

"I'm really sorry." Henry says, his eyes staring anywhere but William's face. "I...it was rude to ask that."

The brush doesn't stop as it pulls through his hair, surprisingly smooth. Henry still isn't looking at William, but when the man speaks, he can feel the tension weigh on him. "You didn't know. I can't fault you for being curious, though, I do suggest you keep from looking through my belongings in the future." They lock eyes and William sets the brush down, his expression contemplative for a very long time. Then, "I used to smoke, you know."

Henry waits for a moment. "You did?" He asks, still unsure if he's still in trouble or not.

"In Brighton." William continues. "I found them in my mother's nightstand when I was twelve. It was fun at first. It made me feel older, more responsible. And I guess it became a bit of a game too, trying to hide it from her. But once she found out and cut off the supply, I realized it wasn't a choice anymore. I needed it and I would do anything to satisfy the craving. So, I contacted a few people from my school and we set up a system. If I did their homework then they would fuel my addiction." William pulls the pack out of his vest, looking at it like an old friend. "Mother forced me to get sober after graduation and ever since then, I've kept one with me at all times."

Henry is left speechless for a moment, fully captivated by the new information. Then, he leans forward just slightly. "Isn't that dangerous?" He asks in a near whisper, almost scared that his voice will break whatever moment they're in.

To his surprise, William shakes his head. "I keep it to remind myself that I can smoke any time I want. It would be so easy, but I choose not to." He puts it back and makes eye contact with Henry. His eyes are intense and Henry feels like he's moving, but he can't be sure.

"I..." Henry takes a deep breath and sits back. Why is his heart going so fast? "Thank you for telling me that. You didn't have to but I really appreciate it."

William sits up straight and grabs the brush again. Whatever he was feeling just moments ago is gone. Now, he just smiles and goes back to what he was doing before. "Don't be sappy, Henry. You asked and I simply provided an answer. Now, let me work." And just like that, they go back to their normal dynamic.

After a while of styling and a light touch of facial product, William drags him over to the bathroom and presents him in the mirror. Henry almost doesn't recognize himself at first, but he can't say it's a bad thing either. His unruly curls have been tamed to neat coils and the color of his suit makes his eyes pop out. Henry turns to the side, feeling comfortable enough to not suck in his gut for once. He smiles.

"So? What are your thoughts?" William asks, though, he looks like he already knows.

"I think my parents should never see this. They might make you dress me up every Sunday morning." He only means it half jokingly, really, because they would. It's hard enough for him to get a white shirt and tie on once a week. He doesn't want to put this much effort into his Sunday best.

When Henry looks back to William, he's surprised with the proud look he's given. "You really are quite stunning when you put effort into it."

"Ouch." Henry glares, but it's only in jest. He's too quick to smile again, still surprised that he actually looks this good. "I'm afraid to move." He laughs, touching his hair gently. "I don't want to mess it up."

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's going to get messy again no matter what you do. Fashion is more about the experience, anyway."

Henry's pretty sure it's not, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he just walks back to their dorm, his strides bold and confident. He feels like taking someone on a date or going to a dance. Both of which he can't do, mostly because he's very single still, but the idea is enough for now.

Maybe he really should try this whole fashion thing. Just every so often.

Shout out to everyone who looks deeper into these interactions! I always worry that people won't see the subtle thing I add but it's nice to know you do!