Total Insecurity

A Meeting

It was dark, and Gregory couldn't help but shiver. From past experience, the dark meant bad. The dark meant gross and evil and scary. Hiding in a giant animatronic bear should change that feeling, but still.

It was scary.

Gregory shifted slightly, resting comfortably against Glamrock Freddy's warm core. The bear was in recharge after the mishap at the show earlier that day. He could remember how everyone had been so excited, cheering loudly and screaming enough to make his ears ring. Freddy had been in the center of it all, smiling and waving and laughing, happily performing until something went wrong. His eyes had gone blank, his legs buckled, and his systems shut off. He could still see the shock in the rest of the band's eyes, simply staring at the fallen bot. A few people had cried out at the loud, metallic bang Freddy had made when he fell.

He had managed to sneak past the barriers in the chaos of everyone leaving and had happily crawled into the shut-down animatronic. Gregory had been in there when Freddy was hauled back to his room. Gregory had been in there when Freddy woke up. Gregory kept quiet when the bear woke up.

Sleeping in an animatronic was better than sleeping in a cardboard box any day.

But, after a while, Gregory could help but feel restless. The bear was constantly moving, pacing and muttering to himself about what had happened only a few hours prior. It was hard to sleep when the mechanical whirring of a few processors was almost screaming in your ear. Whining softly, he knocked on Freddy's chest. "Quiet down, will ya?"

The pacing stopped immediately, and Gregory couldn't help but feel a flash of fear jolt through his body. Tensing as the chest cavity opened, he was ready to be pulled out, and... well, it wouldn't be the first time he was hit...

He didn't expect to see himself in a mirror. Looking up, he met the bright blue eyes of Freddy. Gregory took a deep breath, fully ready to apologize and beg to be spared from punishments unheard of, but was interrupted by a deep laugh.

"So you were the little stone in my pocket, hm?"

"I-uh, what?" Gregory asked, averting his gaze, focusing on the little pictures on the walls that were so messily colored it was almost funny.

He snapped out of it when he felt a furred paw on his arm. Looking back into the mirror, Gregory met Freddy's eyes again. "I will not hurt you, son. In fact, I'm a little curious about how you got in here."

Gregory held his tongue. Even if the bear was being nice, the paw on his elbow was warning enough to stay silent.

"Kid? Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

He shook his head quickly, taking his arm back to his chest, curling further in on himself. He felt the bear huff, and Gregory was soon encased in darkness once more. "It's past twelve already, so I cannot bring you to the entrance. However, I can keep you close until the doors reopen again."

Gregory hummed softly, pinching himself ever so slightly just to be sure.

"Okay."

Freddy went back to walking, but his footsteps were much lighter. No mumbling was heard, and the gentle rocking motion lulled Gregory into another sleep.

He didn't dream, of course, so he wasn't all too upset when Freddy finally pulled him out.

The bear looked sheepish, smiling ever so slightly after he set Gregory down onto his red couch. "I do apologize for waking you, it was not my intent."

Gregory stretched, yawning widely before shrugging. "I don' care, Freddy." He looked out the glass window behind the large animatronic, only seeing the neon lights of the hallway. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Only two o'clock. Why?"

He grinned, standing and brushing himself off. Moving towards the door, Gregory huffed. "What would you do if I go and walk around?"

"Would you hurt anyone?"

"What?" He turned towards the bear, his eyes a tad wider. "Why would I hurt anyone? How could I hurt anyone?" He motioned towards his small arms and legs at the last part.

Freddy grinned, his ears wiggling a tad. "It never hurts to ask, does it?"

Gregory shrugged, reaching up to open the door. His fingers barely brushed the knob before a paw picked him up by the back of his shirt. "I got it, superstar."

"Wh-"

"You are a child, and it is my job to protect children, even after hours." Freddy opened the door and walked out, placing Gregory on his shoulders with a deep chuckle. "It would be irresponsible to let you explore without proper supervision, so why don't I join you?"

Gregory was quiet for a moment before he let his shoulders drop. "Okay, Freddy."

"By the way, superstar, I never got your name."

"Uhm- Gregory. My name's Gregory."

The boy could feel Freddy's footsteps through the bear's shoulders, and he couldn't help but curl into the animatronic. "Well, Gregory, it is a pleasure to meet you."