Stubborn-Withered Bonnie x Reader

8-Storytime

"Mangle sent you down here?" Freddy groaned. You nodded meekly and couldn't help but wince at his tired annoyance. You realized they were animatronics--they couldn't get tired--but you felt like you were being sent down by your cousin to interrogate your poor fazed grandpa. The old bear huffed again and checked the door one more time. "Sorry, can you repeat again, what do you need to know?"
"I-I want--I need to know how you guys are like this." You gestured towards Freddy, who lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "You know what I mean," you sighed. "I want to know what I'm getting into is all. Not that I'm officially staying, no. But I'm thinking about it and I want to make the right decision. I really want to stay, but without the right judgment, I don't know."
Freddy eyed you skeptically. Your face was unwavering. He softened his gaze and gave a small whisper of a smile before returning to the "old 'n' cranky grandpa" look.
"If you say so. But I doubt you'll like what you hear." You nodded, permitting Freddy to continue. He sat on the ground in front of you. You sat across from him cross legged and listened. "Two years ago, me, Foxy, Bonnie and Chica were scrapped from our old pizzeria upon closing. 1985 was the year that a lot of drama was going down in the company, so it would be no alarm that we shut down that exact year and time. That was far from the case, though. You know those old ghost stories?"
You nodded, fidgeting with your small satchel you'd brought along.
"Right," he sighed once again. "There were five kids killed in the pizzeria that same year. They died agonizing deaths and their ghosts stayed to haunt the pizzeria." Freddy paused to check on your state of digestion. Your mouth was hanging agape from the sudden intake of information, your brain scolding you for the ghost speculation you'd always ignored. "Are you still with me, Y/N?" You slowly held a thumbs-up.
"Good, good. Eventually, the spirits remained trapped, but not in the pizzeria, in..." he pointed to himself and your jaw got even wider, where it was most painful.
"YOU'RE A GHOST-?!!" Freddy pushed a paw onto your face to smother your yelling.
"Not exactly," He corrected you with a hushed voice. You paused. "You see, there's something called remnant that's left behind from a soul. Call it ghost energy, to put it more simply. A spirit naturally moves on to the afterlife, unless they refuse to leave for unfinished business, or some of their remnant is still on earth."
"Those kids weren't able to leave, were they? You're one of them?" Your voice trembled as you asked Freddy this question. Your body was beginning to exaggerate your current position, being alone with a possessed animatronic whom you were interrogating about their own death.
"No," Freddy said softly, a sympathetic side seeping through. "Our suits were used as carriers to hide the bodies, and ever since, a part of the kids' remnant has been with us. It has brought us to life, as it can with almost any inanimate object, but our very existence is a constant reminder of the kids we've kept from resting in peace."
Your eyes began to water some. The death of a child was always so gratifying compared to an adult. They hadn't experienced experienced the joys of life, neither their parents the joy of parenthood. And those kids were never able to fully move on, werethey?
"Don't be scared," Freddy reassured you. He seemed to be ditching the grumpy demeanor. Freddy's voice startled you a bit, which disappointed you to say the least. It was a horror story, what's happened in the pizzeria's history. But you've finally been able to establish the basic line of trust between you and most of the animatronics. Learning about their past must be part of that, but it may also be the reset button of your relationship. You swallowed a lump in your throat.
"I'm fine, Freddy. So, you're actually Freddy, right? Not some missing kid from the 80s?" You spoke with a wavering voice, tempted by the tears in the back of your eyes. Freddy gave a sad smile and nodded.
"It's me," he said softly. He reached forward slowly as to not startle you again, which you appreciated. His hand was extended for you to shake. This was it. That thin line of trust. You extended your arm as well, but hesitated. "I won't hurt you. It's still me." The fact that he had to reassure you of your safety filled your gut with guilt. You gave Freddy that handshake with a firm, friendly squeeze to punctuate it.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to act all scared of you guys. But. Ghosts freak me out, to be honest. No offense, I think." You chuckled meekly.
"I understand. You wanted to know, and you deserved to know. To make a decision." Freddy said. His head and ears drooped down. You were speechless. Maybe you needed to process all of this. Yeah. You just needed time to think this over. It was a haunted restaurant. You should definitely take some time to think before deciding to work there. You chuckled at the remark you made to yourself. Freddy looked at you with a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"Sorry," you blurted. "Um, I'll think over it this weekend. If I don't come back Monday night, I guess we'll have our answer. Unless they make me work. Then I'll just tell you then. Then either way an answer will be out on Monday. Also, how did you know I was thinking about--"
"The only people dumb enough to apply for this job--no offense--are the ones that end up only staying five nights then busting their butts out of here. You've stayed all five and even grown fond of some of us. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there's some internal debate behind whether you'll stay or not."
"Yeah..." you looked to the side and stood up. Freddy followed, standing to tower over you once again. "Thanks for telling me. This feels like a kind of sensitive thing to tell people, so, um. Yeah, thanks." You huffed, a smile creasing your features. Freddy smiled too and gestured to the door. You were more than happy to step outside.
You softly closed the door behind you and clasped onto your bag, which was slung across your shoulders.
"HoW'D iT GO??" Mangle asked. You winced from the sudden staticky volume in your ear and looked up at Mangle, who was hanging up on the ceiling.
"Well, if I didn't know what was up with you guys before, I do now."
"AnD DOeS iT heLp??"
You hesitated and really thought about that question. You wanted to answer as honest as you could. "At the moment, it helps just a little bit. It freaks me out a little more than it reassures me, y'know?"
"VaLId." They remarked. "DiD hE tALk AbOut PriZE coRnER?"
"No," You furrowed your eyebrows. "No, he didn't. Was he supposed to?"
Mangle was silent for a few moments, their jaw hanging agape without a response in mind. "WeLl, I FiGUreD FrEDdY mIght as WeLL TElL yOu THe WhOLe SToRy. BUt iF hE DiDn't, I'M surE He'Ll OpEn Up AbOuT iT EvEnTUaLLY."
You hummed, casting a look off to the side as you spaced off. You were tempted to question Mangle, further, but you figured this all was enough to take in for one night. "Right," you said. "Well, thanks, Mangle. You're real sweet, you know that?"
Mangle looked like they were going to break out sobbing to the point they threw up. They threw their arms over you in an embrace. A very awkward one at that, considering that they were still hanging on the ceiling. You gave a quick goodbye before you started off to the door. Mangle left in the opposite direction.
This hallway was a little more quiet than usual. Darker, too. You whipped out your flashlight.
"Huh, dead already." You observed. Suspicious. You put it back in your satchel and sped up the pace of your walking.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!" The mechanical scream echoed from in front of you. Two red dots charged towards you. You knew exactly what was coming. And as much as your heart plummeted with fear, you also became a bit more irritated with Withered Bonnie's persistence.
In the end, fear won.
His hand scraped against your throat and slammed your body onto the ground. You couldn't breathe; all of the wind had been knocked out of your body.
"GET OUT OF HERE NOW." Bonnie hissed. He stood above you with his hand still over your throat. Or at least you thought. You could still feel a weight on your chest. Maybe that was his hand. Pinning you down. A delicious distraction brewed in your mind.
"I can't with you standing ON TOP OF ME. IDIOT." You hissed back at him. Bonnie's eyes flared red once again and his hand sunk deeper into your chest. You winced, your eyes bulging open as you tried to captivate your pain.
"You're really bold, you know that? You should know very well by now that I could kill you with one blow."
"Then why don't you, pretty boy?" You wheezed out, then wheezed even harder at your own joke. If Bonnie wasn't angry then, he was now.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU." Bonnie raised his voice, glitching out more and more as his sentence progressed. He dug into your skin. His face leaned closer and closer until all you could see was red. His eyes enveloped yours. You couldn't see anything. You could barely breathe. But you had to speak.
"Ha....har...." You wheezed out. Bonnie leaned closer.
"Come on, baby, spit it out. I want to hear your last words before I break your damn neck." Okay, why did that first part translate so different in your head? Your arm reached onto his and you opened your eyes a sliver. A small smirk quivered on your lips.
".....harrrderr...." You drawled out. Bonnie's LED eyes shot out even bigger and brighter than they were before. It had definitely paid off. He got off of you immediately in disgust. You shot up off the ground before he could react and raced for the exit. Your hand shoved the doors open and you flung yourself outside. You looked back and saw no one there. You would have thought he was just a bit behind and could burst out any minute.
But while you were running out of the building, you didn't hear any footsteps following behind you.

...anyone up for a Helluva Boss reference? 🤣