now and forever

15

The haze of sleep permeated your mind as your body slowly woke up. The last few strands of your dreams unraveled as awareness came back to you bit by bit. You were laying in bed, over your blanket for some reason, but managed to stay warm regardless. Probably from whatever it was you were hugging... that was also hugging you back.

Freddy! That's right! He had come to your door late last night, looking absolutely devastated about Bonnie. You had a feeling he would be, but was taken aback by just how utterly heartbroken he was. And the fact that he felt the need to apologize afterward?! Someone needed to teach this bear that it was okay to take his own feelings into consideration, and you'd be more than happy to fill that role.

You sighed heavily as you opened your eyes. You glanced up at the bear who appeared to be very deep in his own thoughts. So deep, in fact, that you wondered if he was even aware of his surroundings. Still too groggy to properly control your inhibitions, you reached up and booped his nose. You stifled a giggle at the squeak it made. He snapped out of his thoughts, and glanced around the room.

"When did it get daylight?" he asked, noticing how bright the room was compared to last night.

"When the sun decided to rise above the horizon." you couldn't help the sarcastic quip that fell from your lips. Thankfully, he didn't seem offended, and even gave a huff of amusement.

"Guess I walked right into that one." he said, meeting your gaze. He looked tired. Not his usual "my battery is low and I need to charge" tired, but actually emotionally exhausted. Your heart went out to him.

"You want to talk about it?" You asked, lightly rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him. He hesitated before answering.

"Give me a few minutes more to gather my thoughts." he said, and you nodded.

"That's perfect, actually. I need in the restroom, and would also like to get rid of this morning breath." You said, lightly tapping his arm to signal that you want to be let up.

"Oh. Of course." He let you go, and you left to do your business and brush your teeth. When you came back, he was sitting up on the bed, back against the wall as he rested on one of your pillows. His legs were stretched out over the king sized mattress. You climbed onto the other side, and mimicked his position.

"Anytime you're ready, Big Guy." you said, grabbing his hand as a show of moral support and comfort. He looked down at it. It was the hand that was still injured. The bandage had come loose during the night.

"Let me fix this first." he said, unraveling it to rewrap around the bruise.

You rolled your eyes at his insistent need to make sure others around him were okay before he considered his own feelings. He took his time, and even studied the bruise once it was visible. The swelling from the agitation had gone down, and the bruise itself was in the process of fading. You were happy about that. You were getting tired of not having both hands. Ever so gently, Freddy wrapped the bandage around the bruise, and stared at his handiwork once it was done.

"Now that you're done stalling," he ducked his head a little at being called out. "-do you want to talk about it? Remember, you don't have to if you don't want to. I just want to make sure you have the opportunity to express your grief." you said, as Freddy held your small hand gingerly in his large one.

"No. You're right. I need to allow myself to heal. It is the only way I can help my friends through their grief. As it stands, I can barely look at them without breaking down at the moment." You frowned at his words. The fact that he was still trying to put others first, even now, was a little concerning. You wouldn't bring it up just yet, since he was about to unload his emotions, but you did file it away in your mind for later.