Sunday, December 25, 1994

The first thing Evan felt as he stirred awake was the softness of Mangle's new silicone flesh all around him as the vixen held him in a loving embrace.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said and gently nuzzled his cheek. "Did you sleep well?"

Evan huffed a laugh and smiled fondly at her. "That might very well have been the best I've slept in my entire life."

Mangle giggled at that. "That's not very surprising—you almost slept until ten."

"Did I?" The sixteen-year-old asked in disbelief as he turned to look at the clock. It was almost 9:50 AM. He turned back to the vixen and chuckled. "I suppose after getting up at six every morning for almost a year, I was in dire need of a good night's sleep."

"Oh, you most definitely were," Mangle replied with an amused smile. "Now, why don't we get out of bed so that you can get dressed before your father starts buzzing you?"

"Good idea," Evan agreed.

He and Mangle then got out of bed. While he was wearing his pajamas as usual, the vixen wore a pink slip dress nightgown. It was something the sixteen-year-old had requested that she'd wear to bed after her upgrade, as he simply did not feel comfortable sleeping next to her otherwise given her new body. Mangle, of course, was all too happy to oblige.

Following his normal morning routine, Evan went over to his clothes trunk to change out of his pajamas. However, as he was in the midst of unbuttoning his shirt, Mangle spoke up.

"Hey, Evan?"

"Yes, Mangle?"

"Given our relationship now, do you… still want me to look away when you undress and get changed?" She asked somewhat abashedly.

The sixteen-year-old opened and closed his mouth as he thought of a response. Then, hesitantly, he said, "Given how much time I've spent looking at your body as I've worked on it, I… I suppose it's only fair for you to get to see mine as well."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but we both know that we don't feel the same way for one another. While I don't mind you seeing my naked body, I would understand if me seeing yours would make you uncomfortable," Mangle replied. "So if you prefer me to look away, I'll happily do so."

Evan couldn't help but to smile at that, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He truly appreciated how considerate the vixen was of his feelings.

"Thank you, Mangle," he said as he turned and gave her a fond smile. "And yes, truthfully, I would prefer you to look away. Maybe… maybe that'll change one day, but as of now I cannot help but to feel overwhelmed by all of these changes."

"I'll happily accommodate you either way," Mangle replied, smiling back at him.

With that, Evan undressed and then put on a fresh pair of underwear, white socks, khaki pants, a purple dress shirt, as well as a black sweater. Turning to Mangle, the sixteen-year-old saw that she had gotten dressed as well—now wearing a pink sweater and black sweatpants—and was in the process of putting her earrings on.

Once they were on, the vixen looked at Evan and smiled, then spun around to show off her outfit. "How do I look?"

He approached her with a warm smile. "You look absolutely stunning, Mangle."

Upon hearing that, the vixen let out a giggle of delight, her tail wagging behind her.

"Now, before I'm off to have breakfast, how about I give you your second Christmas gift?" Evan said with a playful smile.

"Yes, please!" Mangle replied excitedly with a grin, her tail wagging even faster than before.

The sixteen-year-old couldn't help but to chuckle at her excitement as he went over to his clothes trunk. He opened it, reached inside, and pulled out a sizable gift box. He then returned to Mangle and handed it to her.

"Merry Christmas, Mangle."

The vixen let out a giggle. "Merry Christmas, Evan."

She then eagerly unwrapped the present. Inside was a small rose-colored handbag.

"Oh!" Mangle exclaimed, looking a bit surprised.

"Look inside," Evan said with a knowing smile.

The vixen's own smile widened and she proceeded to open the bag. Inside was a red wallet, and after pulling it out and looking inside of it too, she found five one-dollar bills and three five-dollar bills.

She looked at the sixteen-year-old with a surprised look on her face.

"Since you can go outside now, I figured that you ought to have your own money that you can spend however you want," Evan explained. "And after giving it some thought, I have decided to give you half of my allowance, starting next year."

Mangle just stared at him, unsure of how to respond. Her eyes then welled up with tears and she began to sob.

Looking quite concerned, Evan reached out and gently rubbed her shoulder. "Mangle, are you alright? Did… did I do something wrong?"

The vixen's sobbing intensified and she pulled the sixteen-year-old into a hug.

"You've already done so much for me, and yet you keep going above and beyond to… to…" She trailed off as she continued to sob.

"Well, of course I do," Evan replied as he gently stroked her hair. "You're my best friend in the whole world, Mangle, and you deserve to have as much independence as I can possibly give you."

The vixen sniffled and nuzzled his cheek. "Thank you."

Evan chuckled. "You're very welcome, Mangle."

Suddenly, the wall buzzer lit up.

The sixteen-year-old gave Mangle a rueful smile. "Looks like it's time for breakfast. Would you like me to bring you some as well?"

"Yes, please!" The vixen replied eagerly and sniffled, her tail wagging behind her.

"Very well." Evan broke the hug. "I'll be back before long."

With that, the sixteen-year-old left the barn and trudged over to the house. As usual on the days of Christmas, he was welcomed by the smell of ginger-and-cinnamon-spiced pancakes and the sound of Christmas music. And as usual, he found his father and brother sitting at the table, eating pancakes with maple syrup and drinking tea.

"Good morning, sport," William greeted him with an amused smile. "I take it you slept in today?"

Evan let out a tired chuckle as he made his way over to his seat. "That I did."

Michael then piped up. "I don't blame you. After all, you've gotten up at six every morning since you started your project."

"Well, thankfully, I'm done with it now," Evan said as he sat down.

After taking a sip of his tea, the sixteen-year-old dug in. As much as he had a problem with his father, he couldn't deny that he was a good cook, and his ginger-and-cinnamon-spiced pancakes were one of the seasonal treats that always made Christmas mornings so special.

William then spoke up in-between bites. "So… how is Mangle doing? Is she having any trouble adjusting to her new body?"

Evan furrowed his brow as he regarded his father. As a roboticist, he was naturally curious about her new animatronic body, but what the sixteen-year-old found so insulting was that he had the audacity to probe for information about it by feigning interest in Mangle's well-being.

"She's fine," was Evan's curt response. "And she's already fully adjusted to it"

"Really? That's incredible!" William said with what seemed like genuine interest. "You know, sport, I'd love to see how it turned out. From the schematics you showed me, Mangle's new body must be incredibly lifelike," William remarked with a smile. "If I could find the camcorder, perhaps you'd be willing to film her for me?"

"Or perhaps I could simply bring her in here so you can see for yourself," Evan said bitterly.

William frowned. "Evan…"

"Oh, that's right, how could I forget? If I do something like that, you'll murder her," the sixteen-year-old responded, his voice full of venom.

William furrowed his brow. "Evan, we discussed this. I have very good reasons not to—"

"No, Father. You do not. You've given me nothing but excuses and you've threatened to kill my best friend—someone I'm planning to spend the rest of my life with!" The sixteen-year-old pointed out with contempt. "And now you have the audacity to ask me to parade her in front of a camera just to satisfy your curiosity!"

"That's enough!" William snapped at him, raising his voice. He then pointed towards the front door. "Go to the barn! You're grounded for the rest of the day!"

"Fine with me," Evan replied with a huff as he got out of his seat. Grabbing his plate of pancakes and his cup of tea, he added, "I'd much rather have breakfast with Mangle than you two."

Michael blinked. "Huh? What did I do?"

Evan just glared at him before taking his leave.

However, he didn't get far before his father addressed him once more. "Oh, and Evan?"

The sixteen-year-old turned to face him.

With a very grave expression on his face, William said, "Don't you ever speak to me that way again, understood?"

"Or what? You'll hit me? Disown me?" Evan shot back, which seemed to have caught his father off guard. "Or perhaps you'll make good on your threat and attempt to harm Mangle," he sneered. Then, with a sinister smirk, he added, "I would strongly advise against it—she's more than capable of defending herself with her new body."

His mouth agape, William stared at his youngest son in disbelief.

Evan turned to leave once again, but before he did, he looked back at his father one final time and said, "Do you know what the worst thing is? Up until you made that threat of yours, Mangle actually saw you as something like a father—a father! She actually thought that she could become a part of this family, and then you just ripped that away from her. Just ripped it away." He glared at his father with utter disdain. "I will never forgive you for that."

His father didn't respond, and Evan had no intention of sticking around to hear what he had to say anyway, so he left the house and returned to the barn.

Mangle, who was laying in front of the TV, looked quite surprised when she saw the sixteen-year-old enter.

"You're back already?" She asked as she got up on her feet.

"Yeah, I got into a fight with Father," Evan replied with a sniffle. He then smiled at her and added, "And I figured that I'd much rather have breakfast with you."

Mangle smiled back at him, and her tail began to wag. "I would love to have breakfast with you."

"Sadly, since I left in such a hurry, I don't have a separate plate for you," Evan explained. "I hope you don't mind sharing."

The vixen let out a giggle. "Not at all."

They both sat down on the floor, and Evan proceeded to cut a piece out of one of the pancakes. After putting his fork through it, he held it up to Mangle, who eagerly ate it and murmured in delight as she took in the flavor.

The sixteen-year-old then cut a piece for himself and was about to eat it, but then he stopped himself. Letting out a sigh, he put his fork down and said, "Hey, you should know that Father grounded me, so we won't be able to go outside today like we had planned."

Mangle looked at him with a dejected frown. She then took his hand and squeezed it affectionately, and with a rueful smile said, "Well, then I guess we'll just have to enjoy each other's company here instead."

Evan chuckled with a smirk on his face. "Which is hardly a challenge, as I always enjoy yours."

The vixen let out a playful giggle and replied, "Likewise!~"

William paced around in the master bedroom. On the one hand, he was furious at Evan, but on the other hand, the boy's words hadn't just been true, they had also wounded William more deeply than he had thought possible.

With a mournful sigh, William grabbed one of the many family photos decorating the room and sat down on his bed. He stared dejectedly at the photo—something that to him was a snapshot of a better time, a happier time, before he had ruined everything.

His gaze fixed on his wife in the photo, William said, "I really thought I could be a better father than him… at least when it came to this… and yet, I only ended up proving him right." He gently stroked the image of his wife, desperately wishing to feel her touch once again. "Oh Clara, what am I supposed to do? How do I fix this?"

It was now abundantly clear that he could no longer keep up with the lies he had told Evan about Mangle while also keeping his relationship with him intact. And even if he could, the boy was so incredibly attached to the animatronic that, if given the choice, he would much rather spend his time with her than with his family.

William knew now that if he continued to force him to make that choice, Evan would simply do to him what he had done to his own parents—cut off all contact once he left for college.

He thought back to when Evan was little. He had been such an overly sensitive little boy, and William had watched him grow into one of the most brilliant young men the world had ever seen. He was so proud of him, and he wanted nothing more than for Evan to continue to be a part of his life.

His thoughts then drifted to Mangle. While she was an absolutely extraordinary specimen—one that he would have jumped at the opportunity to take apart and study—her incredibly positive influence on Evan, and the many good things he had heard about her, had actually made him grow quite fond of her. As such, he couldn't help but to imagine what things could've been like if she had been allowed to live in the house and become a real part of the family.

William let out another sigh. He knew the solution to this dilemma, but he also knew that if he attempted it, he would risk losing everything. But if he did not try, he would inevitably lose his beloved son and protégé.