After a fair few days had flown by like rockets, the atmosphere had seemed to fizzle out into a more calmer sensation throughout the pizzeria, even when the loud rushes of the day occurred, and with it both kids and chaos.
Nights seemed to be a little uneventful in addition to the days, the night guard seeming to be a little more attentive to what was outside of his small office.
Freddy was too, his Papa-Bear instincts ramping up a bit more than usual.

Same could be said for one particular night, days after the fight had occurred.
After 12, Freddy had powered back on, only to see that Bonnie was missing.
Maybe he was already at the back office? in the supply closet? he was unsure.
He sighed, clambering off the stage, and began to make his way through the pizzeria at a slow and even pace, to keep Mike guessing.
He was vaguely aware of the cameras buzzing and moving around, occasionally seeing the blinking red lights out of the corners of his optics, but he chose not to acknowledge them for now.
Looking behind him, Chica was still on the stage, frozen in place, neither she nor her cupcake had made a move.
Humming softly, he kept walking.

He must have made an almost full loop around the pizzeria at this point, when he passed by the Employees Only storage room again, his humming slowing to a confused stop.
Something had made a soft noise from inside the dark room.
Looking over his shoulder, he could see that Chica was elsewhere by now, before turning back to the door. The noise was still going on.
The sound was still going on, Freddy looking rather concerned.
Without a second thought, he reached for the doorknob and opened the door, allowing whatever light there was from the stage to seep in just a little bit, casting light squares on the tiled floor.
He cautiously stepped in and looked around; there, huddled against the wall, hugging his knees, ears drooping sadly, was Bonnie.
Freddy's blue optics widened, and he closed the door behind him.
Bonnie didn't even look up, just continued to sob quietly.

Freddy moved forward, trying to make his footsteps as quiet as possible -easier said than done, considering he and his pals were robots- and sat down next to the crying animatronic, sliding his back down the wall, resting one arm on the floor behind him and the other on his bent knee.
"Come on, Bon. Talk to me" was all he said, making Bonnie sniffle and look up at the kind but stern-sounding bear animatronic.
Bonnie looked a little startled to see Freddy in the same room, sitting so close to him. He scrubbed at his red optics stubbornly and looked away.
"F-Freddy, but I..." Bonnie started to protest, before Freddy interjected.
"No, Bonnie. No buts" Freddy told him semi-sternly. "No protests, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer" his voice was a bit more gentle towards the end of the statement, which seemed to make the incessant blips in Bonnie's wiring calm down somewhat.
Bonnie allowed a shiver to make its way through his endoskeleton, Freddy practically feeling the fear from his modems and chassis.

"I....." Bonnie squeaked, his mouth shutting and eyes darting down. He just wanted to stop crying!
Oil brimmed in his optics again, and -despite himself- let out a half-choked sob, bowing his head.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I've been like this lately. It's all going wrong!" he whimpered softly, not caring oil tears were wetting his purple fur.
"All going wrong? Talk to me, buddy, what's up?" Freddy asked, brows tilted in a concerned look as he looped an arm around Bonnie's shaking shoulders.

"I-I....I've been having...bad dreams. I-I know that sounds pathetic, but-" Freddy cut him off.
"Oh, Bonnie. That doesn't sound pathetic at all" he said reassuringly. "What kind of bad dreams? If that's ok to ask, I mean?"
"Nasty ones..." Bonnie murmured. "A lotta times I get them, I wake up, f-feelin' like I can't move. It's scary. That an' on top of not being able to sleep well, it's been so s-stressful...the night guard can vouch for me, Freddy."
"Why'd you say that?" Freddy asked, looking confused.
"I......" Bonnie looked down and hugged his knees, mumbling something.
"Say again?" Freddy asked, shifting closer.
"I..I-I passed out. Powered off before I could even reach him..I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have! I know I should have been keeping watch!" Bonnie's tone of voice was fearful, and he began to talk faster and a bit louder.

Freddy held Bonnie securely to his chassis to calm him down, his hand smoothing down the ruffled purple fur on his back.
"Bonnie, Bonnie, calm down. Deep breaths, it's ok. It's ok. I'm glad you told me" Freddy replied, amidst the snuffling from the other animatronic.
"You're not mad?" Bonnie asked, his tone and choice of words seeming childish, as if he was a frightened kid talking to a concerned parent.
"Of course not, Bon-Bon. It would actually explain your behaviour in the daytime, too..." he hummed, blue optics glowing comfortingly, causing Bonnie's raspberry-coloured photo-receptors to mimic the action.
"Y-ya mean it? You're not angry at me? even though I messed up?" Bonnie almost pleaded.
"No, I'm not. You've gone through a rough time, bud. And we all make mistakes at times, don't worry about it" Freddy told him.
"How long has this been going on, exactly?" he gently pressed, not wanting to pressure Bonnie into something he didn't want to talk about. But he had to know, just in case there was something he could do.
"About....two, three weeks?"" Bonnie admitted, ears twitching idly.

Freddy's metaphorical heart sank, and he looked down, cogs whirring as he conjured up a plan.
Bonnie, who had been let go by the bear at this time, turned to face his thoughtful companion, head tilted in confusion.
With a small hum, he raised his head and looked at the rabbit animatronic beside him.
"Tell you what, how about tonight we have a break from scaring the guard? I'll stay with you tonight" he suggested.
Bonnie's ears twitched; one going down, one going up in a confused manner.

"What are you getting at?" Bonnie asked.
"Animatronics or not, we still need to power off to conserve energy. It's not good for us to be on 24/7, despite the Free Roam mode thing. Look, what I'm trying to say is, I'll stay so you don't get any nightmares or get disturbed, and I promise to wake you up if something happens" Freddy reiterated.
"Promise?" Bonnie asked, skeptical.
"Yup. I promise" Freddy declared with a nod, Bonnie wiping his tears.

"Thanks, Freddy."