Chapter Text
"Keep moving. I don't want to be slowed down anymore." His father scolded him.
Freddy quickened his pace as they walked through Downtown. His father had needed to meet with someone, but he rarely left without Freddy with him. For his own safety, of course.
The cub followed him nervously, very much disliking Downtown. It was quite unsafe, with the amount of crime and pedestrian traffic. His mother would never let him come here alone, and even when they were together, he had to stay close to her side. The air quality was also exceptionally poor. It was constantly cloudy from the smog emitted from the factories and plants, and it made breathing nearly painful. Many of the apartments and buildings did not even have windows in them. They were made of all brick and stone, and some housed up to eight families at a time. It resembled more of prison than apartment homes. Freddy was trailing far behind his father because the man never slowed down for him, and he could not keep up, but he was used to this. He was pulled from his thoughts as he suddenly heard his name being called.
"Hey, Freddy!"
Freddy turned to the other side of the cobbled road and sidewalk. There, sitting on a concrete bench on the side of one of the store buildings, he saw his best friend, Bonnie. The kit was waving to him from across the road, and he was next to an older kid. They were wearing rather torn and filthy apparel.
Freddy glanced back at his father, seeing that he was watching Freddy expectantly from a few feet ahead.
Before Freddy could follow him again, his father only sighed in defeat and brushed him off.
"It's right here. Just stay with your friends while I do my thing." He left without another word.
Freddy's tail wagged gratefully, and he glanced both ways down the street before running over to greet them.
Bonnie was dressed in a button up and overall shorts, while the other boy was dressed similar and donned a red bandana around his neck. They were sharing and chewing on what looked to be small candies in a brown paper bag.
"Hey guys! What're you eating?" He asked.
Bonnie took another peice from the bag and chewed it, passing the bag to Freddy to offer him some.
"Tobacco! Want some?"
Freddy shook his head. "I-I shouldn't, my dad doesn't like me getting food from other people."
Bonnie frowned but took the bag back. Freddy glanced between them in confusion.
"Why are you guys so dirty-?" He asked instead.
Bonnie finished chewing a bite and swallowed so he could speak. "We just got off work. We got off early today because there was some cave-in, and we couldn't do nothin'." He stated, gesturing to the older boy.
"This is Foxy. He works there too, but he's one of the real miners. I'm still not big enough, so I'm just a breaker, but sometimes I get to push the cart in and out!" He overshared.
Freddy waved awkwardly at the fox, who only nodded in greeting with a disinterested look, saying nothing. Bonnie brushed it off.
"He's shy, don't worry about him." He smiled at Freddy.
"It sucks you don't come around here so often. You never have time to play anymore!" Bonnie pouted as he continued chewing.
Freddy glanced down sadly. "Yeah... I wish I had time too, but my father's always keeping me busy." He shrugged.
"What did you say your dad did for work again, anyway-? Why's he always look grumpy?" Bonnie's nose scrunched up as he giggled at his own joke.
Freddy dropped his gaze as he tried coming up with some explanation. He knew he was not supposed to tell anyone about their secret.
"He, uh... he works in... crime...?" He spoke vaguely, sitting beside Bonnie.
"So he be an officer-?" The fox finally asked.
Freddy nodded quickly. "Y-yeah! Exactly."
Bonnie stuck his tounge out. "I don't like officers. They're mean."
Freddy chuckled, but dropped his gaze solemnly. "... yeah. They are really mean..."
Bonnie furrowed his brows in concern to Freddy as he noticed the boy's souring mood and set down the bag. "Oh no! Did he hit you again??" The child asked innocently.
Freddy shrugged. "Sort of, but... this time it was really bad... it hurt a lot..." He chose not to go into details and scare Bonnie and his friend.
Foxy's gaze softened somewhat, and he dropped his head solemnly, while Bonnie frowned and lifted himself to stand on his knees, crawling over to give the cub a reassuring side-hug.
"I'm sorry about that, Freddy... one of these days, we're gonna' go and beat your dad up!" Bonnie assured.
Freddy turned to him in confusion. "We...? I-I don't know, I... I don't think I could beat up my father..."
Bonnie huffed, but kept his tight hold on Freddy as he turned to Foxy again.
"Foxy and I will do it, huh?" Bonnie. looked to him for input. Foxy merely shrugged with a nod.
Freddy smiled gratefully at them. "Thank you guys... but it's okay. I'll be okay..." He reassured, tensing up as Bonnie's hug grew tighter.
"B-Bonnie, you're hugging me really tight-" He smiled politely. Bonnie still did not let go.
"You don't get enough hugs at home, so I'm giving you all the hugs you missed at the same time." He insisted.
Freddy felt a small wave of warmth blanket over his body as his smile grew, and he finally hugged Bonnie back. A small cloud of blush rise to his cheeks, but he tried to ignore it.
Bonnie thought love and marriage were gross, and, although he agreed in front of his friend, Freddy has always secretly liked it. His parents were not good examples, but the boy had seen so many lovers together in the park and in the streets. He loved watching romantic plays at the theater, and he loved listening to love songs. He was so excited to be married and in love one day, and he was going to love his one partner the rest of his life. He never wanted to hurt them like his dad did, he wanted to be the best husband ever, like he read in the stories. He thought about being married a lot, and who he wanted to marry. The only one who ever came to his mind was Bonnie.
One day, he was going to marry his friend. He just hoped Bonnie was not so grossed out by love in the future.
He thought he was being discrete with his blushing, until he glanced at Foxy and could see the boy snickering in amusement seeing how obviously flustered he was. He made a kissing face at Freddy to tease him, only worsening the cub's embarrassment.
"O-okay, thanks, Bon! I'm all hugged-out!" He insisted nervously.
Bonnie finally let go of him and glanced around, making sure no one was looking, and gesturing for Freddy to come closer.
"I have a gift for you that'll cheer you up!" He whispered.
Freddy gasped in surprise. "Really?? You didn't have to-" he cut himself off as Bonnie placed a rock in his palm.
He stared at it in confusion. "... is this the gift-?" He asked.
Bonnie nodded quickly, taking the rock to show it in direct sunlight. It sparkled and had a clear, white stone in it.
"I found it in the mine! I have no idea what it is, but it's really pretty, right??" He asked.
Freddy smiled gratefully as the boy gave it back to him. "T-thanks, Bon. I really like it."
"Freddy!"
All three of the boys turned to the sound of Freddy's father calling him again. He glared at Freddy expectantly from across the street with a look of disgust.
"You're getting yourself all dirty, get away from them!" He ordered, gesturing for Freddy to cross the street and come back.
Freddy sighed solemnly, glancing back at Bonnie and Foxy apologetically. Bonnie stuck his tongue out defiantly at the man before turning back to Freddy.
"S-sorry... thanks for talking to me, guys. I'll ask my mom if we can meet again soon..."
Bonnie frowned but nodded sadly, giving Freddy one last 'goodbye' hug.