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It was easy for Freddy to forget that he wasn’t supposed to feel.
It was far too easy for him to forget his purpose, his reason for existence. Easy to forget that he didn’t have the flesh and organs of his creators—or by the contrast, he’d forget that they weren’t made of metal. He wasn’t supposed to look at the band and feel compassion. He wasn’t supposed to feel so stricken with worry at the sound of a child crying. And he certainly wasn’t supposed to feel for a certain band member the way he did.
The warm sensation that seemed to fill his metallic chest every time he saw him, and the way he found himself straining to get closer to him, it went against Freddy’s programming. It wasn’t good for him, or the band, or the company, or anyone. So by that logic, the best course of action would be to ignore them for as long as possible. Maybe he could alert one of the maintenance team members of the occurrence, and they could somehow fix his predicament.
And so that was just what he did.
They laughed at him.
“What? What is so funny.?” The animatronic whimpered. His face would have flushed in embarrassment if it was able to.
“How can you not tell? You’re in love!” The mechanic chuckled. It was clear those words had no effect on her. It meant everything to Freddy.
The bear took a double-take. “But… That is impossible-! I, I was not programmed to feel this way. How do I stop this?”
“Love isn’t a program, dumbass,” The woman looked at him with an amused gaze. “it’s not a death sentence to have a crush, man. Who’s it on?”
“This is not love!” Freddy replied with a hint of scorn. “Not in the romantic sense, at least. It is just a programming bug, I am sure of it.”
She huffed in light-hearted amusement. “Sure it is. Just ask for Casey when you wanna admit who you’re hot and bothered about, Fred.”
He did not ask for Casey ever again.
1:01 A.M.
Freddy was still awake.
It wasn’t like he was supposed to be asleep at this hour. He didn’t need sleep the way humans did, only a brief recharge every few hours or so. Besides, he—and most of the other animatronics—rather liked this time of hour. It was quiet and calm, a stark contrast from the business the daytime brought. He actually had time to hear himself think (most of which he spent going over the plans for the rest of the week, but let’s ignore that). He just wished he could think about something else. Someone else.
Anything other than the way his soft magenta eyes looked at him with such adoration and joy. How his voice was so smooth and deep, the kind of voice that you can feel at the pit of your stomach. How his aloof and careless attitude would shatter the moment he saw you in distress.
God, he was in love, wasn’t he?
Freddy stared at his reflection in the star-shaped mirror. Nothing had changed about him, both in appearance and personality. In the same way, the rest of his bandmates had stayed the same throughout the years as well. Some upgrades, a few minor appearance tweaks here and there, but they were still themselves! As far as Freddy knew, none of his partners had felt this particular “emotion”. What makes him think they were going to start now?
This train of thought was going nowhere. He thought briefly. Maybe he couldn’t get rid of this “love” feeling, but he could distract himself from it.
And so he found himself in Gator Golf.
Golf wasn’t exactly his favorite activity, but Freddy enjoyed the marshy scenery of the area. It wasn’t as open as the rest of the pizzaplex, so he felt a bit safer there, albeit not very much.
He still remembered when the area was first being built. One of the workers fell into a pipe and broke their leg. Another had inhaled sawdust through his flimsy mask and had to go to the emergency room. The more he thought about it, the less details he wanted to know.
Company ignorance aside, he remembered when the first concept of Montgomery Gator arose. He had been excited for a new band member, and was utmost disappointed when he learned that the gator animatronic was to be used for no more than the face of a golfing play area.
The bear continued to take in the sight, his thoughts now significantly lighter, now resembling a gentle buzz rather than a roaring hurricane.
He froze in his tracks.
There, by one of the ponds, a figure in the faint green light. With his legs splayed idly along the bank, thankfully facing away from Freddy, so that he did not see how the sheer sight of his bandmate gave him so much anxiety. Large ears, dark indigo paint. It couldn’t be anyone else.
“Oh, hey there, Fred! Why dontcha come sit down for a while?”
Bonnie turned to look at him with a smile that somehow looked more sincere than the one plastered onto his shell at all times. The green lights seemed to perfectly compliment the streaks of bright blue around his eyes, making them stand out like thick strands of diamond. His pink eyes were half-lidded and kind and oh so inviting.
He wasn’t sure what it went against, but surely it went against something. Surely he wasn’t supposed to be sitting right next to him. And yet he was.
“So,” The rabbit cooed. “what brings you here, Mister Superstar?”
God, he hated that nickname. “I like to come here when I need to calm down. The decor is very soothing.”
“No kidding, that’s why I’m here too!” Bonnie draped an arm around Freddy’s shoulder, a gesture that made his metaphorical heart race. “I’ve always felt a lil’ bad for that Monty fella, never got a chance t’ be more than a golf guy.”
Freddy had to put effort into making sure his systems didn’t go haywire at how close thee two were to each other. “Montgomery would have made an excellent member of the band, I do believe.”
The rabbit animatronic tilted his head so that his oversized ears now brushed against his neck. “Gives me drummer vibes, y’know?”
The two stayed like that, making quiet small talk by the pond. Bonnie would occasionally comment on how tense he looked, and how he needed to relax, but that was practically impossible considering how their bodies were so close to each other, borderline cuddling. He loved it—no, he adored it—but at the same time, Freddy wanted to run to the nearest recharge station and never come out again. How could he love something so much, yet want to get as far away from it as humanely possible? That didn’t make sense. Nothing made s-
“You’re warm,” Bonnie rested his head on the bear’s shoulder and pulled him closer, now embracing him in a loose hug.
For the second time that night, Freddy did a double take. “…Warm?”
“Yeah, like a giant bear heater..” The rabbit’s voice became noticeably softer, as if he was falling asleep. He was reaching for his hand, and now their fingers were entwined. He gave a gentle squeeze, and Freddy squeezed back.
Freddy wrapped his own free arm around the rabbit, rubbing small circles into his shoulder. He supposed he did feel a growing warmth in his chest, a familiar feeling that he did not try to push away. For once in his years, he did not want to run away from this strange emotion. He thought that, maybe, just maybe, this love could be reciprocated.
Just a little bit.