Just Gold

Chapter 0: The Letter

When the door to Goldie's room swung open with a bang, and the way Bonnie and Helpy tackled him like he was getting scrapped, he'd sincerely thought something horrible had happened.

Especially when Fredbear and Spring Bonnie turned the corner.

Looking up from the two Toons, that had all but secreted themselves between the confines of his sides and arms, he met the disproving emerald eyes of the yellow rabbit and the long-suffering blue ones of the yellow bear. Goldie looked at his abrupt company and decided whatever the white and taffy-pink bear, Helpy, and the purple bunny, Bonnie, had done to deserve both Fredbear's and Spring Bonnie's attention must have been big or crossed someone's line and he really shouldn't get involved.

He remained in his slumped position against the wall as Spring Bonnie wordlessly separated her two fellow Toons from Goldie's space, ignoring the cries of 'Mercy!' and 'Don't let her take me!', the latter being for the largest in the room, Goldie.

"Sorry about that Goldie. The two thought it would be hilarious to replace all of Chica's flour with chalk." Fredbear said as he let out a weary sigh, Goldie grimaced. "Yeah it wasn't pretty. They'll have to hide with the Nightmares or you for a while, or at least until Chica's desire for revenge has calmed down to a reasonable level."

"I'd wondered what had happened. Do you need me to come out? I know what Chica's like when the kitchen's involved." Goldie asked sitting straighter as Fredbear sat down next to him.

"No need. Ballora and Yennard are on vengeful-chicken-lockdown while Spring Bonnie plays peacekeeper and referee."

"Ah."

They both sat in a comfortable silence after that, listening to the pandemonium coming from the main room. An unknown amount of time passed before Goldie spoke up.

"I'm lovin' the company, but aren't you busy today?"

"Ah right! That reminds me." Fredbear exclaimed as he reached for his black top hat and pulled something out of it, and handed Goldie a worn looking letter. "This is for you, it came in the mail yesterday and we've only just got to sorting out the pile."

"For me?" Goldie asked confused, he hadn't received a letter in over 30 years. Let alone any contact with strangers outside the familiar faces that visited and lived with him.

Fredbear let out a sympathetic hum, while placing his top hat on the floor next to him, and leaned into the other.

'Wonder who it's from...' Goldie wondered, staring at the odd little envelope surrounded within a foreboding aura, he paused for a second before he pulled out the slightly ink stained letter, and saw who it was from.

JoeyDrew.

Goldie stared, unintentionally making Fredbear unsettled next to him the longer he went unmoving.

'Was whomever wrote the letter like HIM?', Fredbear worried.

"Goldie? Everything okay?" Fredbear asked uncertain, as an old protectiveness reared for the old creator.

It took a few seconds longer than it should have before Goldie's remaining eye shifted to meet Fredbear's concerned gaze.

"Sorry. It just took me by surprise that's all." His answer didn't seemto have the hoped reassuring affect on the Toon bear as Goldie had hoped it would. "I-I'm fine really. It's just he's the last person I'd expected to get a letter from, especially after all these years."

Fredbear nodded in both understanding and woebegone, unpleasant memories resurfacing, from the time before the stable and calm. Back when HE was still active in the Toon's lives, back when Goldie lost everything and became - this.

He hadn't meant for the bad memories to show face, or for it to show on his fuzzy face. But when Goldie's larger hand rested on his shoulder, and due to the size difference between them, it ended up covering agood part of his upper arm as well, he noticed.

"You okay? Joey may have been a chore to deal with most of the time, but he'd never do what HE  did. Ever." Goldie soothed, letter placed on the floor, he pulled the bear onto his lap, once settled he picked the letter up once more.

"Joey...Drew? The guy you were with first?" Fredbear questioned, head now resting on Goldie's chest. Years ago it used to have a reassuring beat underneath, one that he and Spring Bonnie had curled up together to listen to when it had just been the two of them. But now because of HIM both the beat and the source were long gone.

"Yeah, that's him."

"How bad a chore? The you've just walked in on a Chica bake-off bad? Or Springy, Plushtrap and The Cupcakes joining forces with the Foxy's bad?" Fredbear asked, with an amused and lighter tone.

This hug was nostalgic, different and completely unforeseen. He'd only come to give Goldie his letter and spend sometime with him, but who's going to complain? Hugs from Goldie were, well, golden. Back when HE was active, Goldie had been the one, out of the two, to fully integrate the newly-drawn Toons into his family, while HE had been a friendly yet ominousacquaintance. But after the deaths of the Ravenscroft kids and the traumatic years that followed, HE had changed and Goldie had struggled. Soon after, Goldie vanished and left the Toons at the mercy of HIM. But that's the past, their dear Goldie was here, and HE  wasn't. A content smile spread across his snout as Goldie finally stopped his musing.

"A lot more demanding than Baby and an even bigger dreamer than Toy Chica and Bonnie combined. But unlike them, he took most of us for granted." Goldie shifted a bit, letting Fredbear read the letter after his eyes glanced curiously in it's direction for the third time. Then continued. "Every week he'd come up with ideas and overspend. It was stressful. Keeping an eye on him, keeping the staff we had happy and ensuring they got their pay-checks then the stress of meeting the deadlines in time. I gave Grant a job after a particularly bad month and he did stop the monthly overdraft. The man was a legend."

Goldie chuckled, the motion bouncing Fredbear's head slightly. It was rare and surprising to hear the sound, especially after what HE had done to Goldie.

It was heartening hearing it, rather than the silent amusement his remaining eye would hold. Like now, his 'pupil' had changed from it'susual glowing white to a rather pleasing blue. When Fritz and Mike had caught sight of them changing for the first time they'd stared at Goldie for the next few days before they declared them to be Mood eyes, and seeing as it was just the 'pupil' that changed colour according to his hidden emotions - it sorta stuck.

"You going?" Fredbear asked as he watched the colour change into a bluish green. "You don't have to go physically you know. I'm sure you can write back."

"I'll just pop in for a bit, see if everything is as I remember it." Goldie said, mind made up as his eye returned to the green it usually was around the Toons, Humans and Noids he'd considered family and friends.

They let the calm quiet take over once more. But alas, their peace was interrupted by a frantic pirate fox skidding past the door, yelling "CAPT'N!"