Chapter Text
After Gregory was done, the fresh, hot, blood started oozing down his arm. He tried his best to clean himself up but he didn't exactly have anything to use. He ultimately decided to use his sock, because he could put it back on his foot and hide it in his shoe after he was done. The pain was still fresh as he wiped the blood away. He returned his short sleeve over his shoulder and continued on.
To get into parts and service he would need a security upgrade. Gregory bets there's a security office somewhere in the utility tunnels. That's where he headed, not before getting absolutely jumpscared by the map bot though. He, unfortunately, encountered way too many endoskeletons while he was there. The endos terrified Gregory. The way they would only move when he wasn't looking at them. He didn't expect to be in so much danger in the utility tunnels. He missed Freddy.
"Freddy probably hates me," Gregory thought. His shoulder hurt. "I'm the reason he's in this mess. I'm the reason he's all broken down and dirty and all his friends are going crazy and he got taken by the daycare attendant! And and-"
Gregory's thoughts were cut short as he turned around and right behind him, no less than 5 inches away from his face, was an endoskeleton. He audibly gasped and backed up but there was a wall behind him. Pressed against the wall Gregory's heart was beating insanely fast. He was breathing hard and tears were starting to form at the corners of his eyes in pure fear. The endo's eyes were staring at his but it couldn't move because Gregory was looking at him.
"What would have happened if I didn't turn around right then?" Gregory thought. "I really need to stop getting distracted." Gregory maneuvered himself so he could walk past the endo while still looking at it and walked into the next room. After getting the security upgrade and evading the large swarm of endoskeletons that activated, Gregory headed back the way he came. He sighed a breath of relief when he finally got out of the utility tunnels.
Gregory walked up to the doors of parts and service, about to open them, before he stopped. He saw Officer Vanessa in parts and service with Freddy. She had him trapped in a weird cylinder with his head disconnected and was talking to him. Gregory couldn't really make out what they were talking about. He assumed it was about him.
"The daycare attendant must have alerted Vanessa after taking Freddy," Gregory thought. "I hope he's okay."
After Vanessa had left the room Gregory made his way inside. Freddy lit up the moment he came inside.
"There you are, Superstar!" Freddy said. "I'm so glad you are here and alive! Use the console to let me out." Gregory did what he was told and entered the protective cylinder.
"Could you... uh, reattach my head?" Freddy asked after Gregory entered. Gregory carefully reconnected the wires and successfully reattached Freddy's head. After he was done and they both exited the cylinder, Gregory rushed to hug Freddy. The height difference made it so that he only reached Freddy's leg.
"Gregory..? Is something wrong?" Freddy asked, confused by the sudden affection. He kneeled down to meet Gregory at eye level.
"I just missed you," Gregory responded. "I'm sorry I got you taken away." He pulled away from Freddy and returned the eye contact, his chest full of guilt once again.
"It is not your fault that I got taken by the daycare attendant, Superstar. You did nothing wrong," Freddy said.
"I know, but if I- nevermind actually," Gregory said. Freddy looked at him with slight suspicion but did not say anything else. His gaze was then drawn to Gregory's sleeve when he spotted a small area of it covered in blood. It looked relatively fresh.
"Gregory, why is there blood on your sleeve? Did something happen while I was gone?" Freddy asked. Gregory tensed and looked at his sleeve. His expression dropped as he realized some blood from cutting had gotten on his sleeve. The cuts might even still be bleeding now, Gregory never bandages them or anything. He couldn't let Freddy find out.
"No, Freddy, that's just from my injury I got from Roxy. The blood must have transferred somehow," Gregory lied with a forced laugh at the end. He hoped it would be enough to convince Freddy.
"No, that can't be. I do not recall blood being on your sleeve before. May I please take a look, Gregory?" Freddy asked. He started moving his hand toward Gregory's arm. Gregory almost took a step back to avoid Freddy from pulling back the sleeve. He stopped himself though, realizing if he moved away, it would only cause Freddy to get more suspicious. Freddy peeled back the sleeve and discovered the cuts on Gregory's shoulder. Gregory had unfortunately been correct, the cuts were still bleeding, although less than before. He didn't know how he hadn't felt it.
"Stupid, you're so stupid. Your careless mistake is the reason you got caught," Gregory thought. He looked up at Freddy who had a mix of shock and worry on his face. "You're making him worried again, what is wrong with you?!"
"What happened, Gregory?" Freddy asked sincerely, anxiety lacing his tone.
"Oh, I just... um fell. I was dealing with a lot of endoskeletons in the utility tunnels and while running I fell on my shoulder and it got all scraped up. No biggie," Gregory said, quickly making up the lie on the spot. He needed this excuse to work. He couldn't let Freddy find out.
Freddy already knew Gregory was lying. These cuts were too calculated to be from just a fall. They were all perfectly straight and fairly evenly spaced. His sensors also picked up an acceleration in Gregory's heartbeat while he was talking. Freddy feared the worst, what if Gregory had done this to himself?
"Superstar.. that's not true, is it? What really happened? I promise you can trust me, I will not judge you in any way," Freddy said, his voice soft and patient. Hearing Freddy say that immediately made tears well up in Gregory's eyes. His lies didn't work and now Freddy was going to find out. He was going to hate him after this.
"I'm sorry... I.. I cut myself," Gregory said, the tears now falling down his face, hot and shameful. Freddy quickly wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him into a tight hug. Gregory hugged back, sobs falling from his lips and shaking his small body.
"I'm s-so sorry! You p-probably hate me... I just got so mad at m-myself after making you worried and distracting you on the main stage," Gregory said between sobs.
"Shh, it's okay Superstar. I don't hate you, I don't hate you at all. Just focus on your breathing for me okay?" Freddy said, hugging Gregory as tight as he could without hurting him. He was filled with deep sadness. If he wasn't an animatronic he would be crying as well. Gregory had harmed himself and Freddy wasn't there to stop him, to protect him. His Superstar had been hurting this whole time and Freddy didn't even have a clue.
Eventually, Gregory calmed down enough for them to talk. The first thing Freddy had done after he calmed down was bandage Gregory's cuts. After he finished they went back to hugging, holding on tightly. Freddy was the first to speak.
"I wanted to let you know that I am very proud of you for finding the courage to tell me this, Superstar. I want you to know that I care about you very much and I could never hate you. It was not your fault that I got taken when we were on the main stage." Freddy said this while looking down at Gregory with a kind smile.
"Thanks, Freddy," Gregory said, barely audible.
"May I ask you a question, Gregory?" Freddy asked.
"Sure," Gregory said.
"Have you done this before?" Freddy asked. Gregory sucked in a breath.
"Yes... I would usually do it when I felt meaningless.. and the bad thoughts became too much," Gregory said. His cheeks burned with shame. He hated talking about this, he hated talking about his emotions in general.
"I.. had no idea you felt this way," Freddy said. "I must ask one more question, though."
"What is it?" Gregory asked
"How did you do this? What did you use?" Freddy asked, his voice still soft and calm. Gregory shuffled a bit as he searched for something in his pocket. He pulled out the razor blade he had used for cutting.
"This," Gregory said. Freddy really tried to control his facial expression to not stress Gregory. Unfortunately, his face dropped the second his eyes saw the razor blade. He swiftly took it from Gregory's hand.
"I am just going to hold onto this from now on," Freddy said, quickly putting the razor blade into a compartment on his arm.
Inside, Gregory was panicking a little. His way of cutting, his way of coping with his feelings had been taken from him in a matter of seconds. He almost wanted to be mad at Freddy, what right did he think he had to take this away from Gregory?
"This isn't healthy, is it?" Gregory thought. "But I need to be able to cut." Gregory looked at Freddy. His mouth was moving but Gregory couldn't hear any of the words. He tried his best to focus.
"-re you alright Superstar?" Freddy said.
"Yeah," Gregory said, although it didn't sound certain.
"I know this is most likely a lot to process, and for that, I apologize. Although I must let you know that whenever you are feeling intense unpleasant thoughts, I will always be here. I will gladly listen and help you through them, Superstar." Freddy said. This eased Gregory's mind a bit. He finally had someone he could talk to, someone that cared about him. Maybe he could learn to trust again. This little burst of happiness lasted about ten seconds.
"No.. this is all wrong. I don't deserve this. But I have to say something, Freddy is looking at me expecting a response," Gregory thought.
"I'm not.. very good at talking about emotions. So.. I'll be fine on my own, Freddy. Thanks for the offer," Gregory said. Freddy was stunned. This is not what he was expecting.
"N-no, wait, Superstar. I will make sure to check in with you periodically, so we can learn how to talk about our emotions together. Everything will be alright as long as you tell me how you feel, I promise," Freddy said while holding his hand out, expecting Gregory to hold it. Instead, Gregory got up and exited Freddy's arms. He pushed Freddy's hand away softly and turned so he wasn't facing him.
"We should probably get moving, don't you think? It's already 3:45," Gregory said dismissively while checking his fazwatch. Freddy began to get desperate. If Gregory kept pushing him away like this Freddy would never get through to him. This was his only chance and he had to make it work.
"Please, Gregory," Freddy pleaded. "I promise you can trust me. I will prove it to you. How about I talk about how I am feeling at this moment? I will be completely truthful and honest. I will show you that talking about one's emotions has no consequences. I would never lie to you. What do you say?" Freddy said, hoping with his whole metaphorical heart that it worked.
Gregory turned around to once again face Freddy. He saw that Freddy was still kneeling so he was at Gregory's level. His face was a mix of so many emotions, mostly desperation, worry, and love.
"Maybe... this wouldn't be so bad." Gregory thought. "Maybe I can do this." Gregory let out a sigh.
"Okay, Freddy. Let's talk," Gregory said as he sat down cross-legged, facing Freddy. Freddy did the same in an attempt to make Gregory feel more comfortable. As promised, Freddy talked about how he was feeling in that moment, totally truthful. It made Gregory feel a little better about this whole situation. He hesitantly agreed that he would tell Freddy whenever he felt overwhelmed with his emotions.
This would be the start of something great for both of them. Freddy checked in with Gregory throughout the rest of the night and Gregory would always tell him how he was feeling. He didn't have the urge to cut for the rest of the night. He now had Freddy to care about him and listen to him whenever he needed.