Never Known

◇○ Chapter 18 ○◇

It was night by now, and they were at sea again. It was time for their voyage to end, and for everyone to go their separate ways until next time, with Freddy as their new captain.

They had made a wooden plaque for Foxy in Freddy's new office to commemorate their former leader.

Everyone was on the deck right now, enjoying each other's company.

Cassandra was chatting with her mothers and laughing with them, sharing her dramatic story from the ruins. Vanessa had joined their conversation as well.

"You see, mom?? I'm more capable than you thought!" Cassie bragged.

Roxanne sighed and pulled her in for a hug.

"I always knew you were capable..." she pulled away and held the girl's paws.

"I protected you because I was... afraid of losing you, too... I still am." she admitted.

She then smiled at the girl. "But you did amazing on your own, honey... I could never have done what you did."

The girl felt herself growing emotional at her mom's praise. She wiped her eyes and dove in for another hug, which Roxanne readily returned.

"Yeah... you did good, kid. Don't let anyone sell you short." Vanessa added.

Cassie smiled and crawled over to hug her as well, catching her off guard. After a few seconds, she hesitantly returned the hug, hardly hiding her joy.

Chica turned to Monty sympathetically, who was looking out to the black sea with his arms crossed.

"Are you going to be okay now...? Even without him?" She asked.

Monty sighed and thought back to Foxy fondly. He shook his head.

"I doubt it... but I'll try..."

He glanced down. "... I'm just glad I know he's free." They stated. Eventually, they would join in the conversation as well to take their mind off it.

Gregory was with them originally, but he had left towards the bow of the ship, where his fathers were.

Bonnie and Freddy were leaning against each other and chatting. Freddy had his arm securely around Bonnie's waist while the bunny had an arm wrapped loosely around Freddy's hip. The two of them laughed at something funny together and enjoyed each other's company.

When they saw Gregory, Freddy smiled and lifted him up to his chest so he could join the conversation.

"What are you guys even looking at?" He asked.

Bonnie tittered and glanced up again. "Just watching the stars... it's something we enjoy doing."

He turned back to the boy. "Freddy was telling me about your adventure."

The boy cuddled against Freddy's chest as he remembered all the time he spent searching for Bonnie and sighed.

"Yeah... it was so scary, but fun, I guess -" he thought out loud.

Bonnie chuckled and ruffled his bangs affectionately.  Once he pulled his paw away again, his face fell into a sad smile.

"...did you really do all of that just to find me...?" Bonnie asked.

The boy nodded with a smile. "... yeah. I'd do it again, too."

The bunny smile brightened, and he lifted a paw to cup Gregory's cheek.

"You know, your dad and I are so proud of you... that was very brave and selfless of you."

"... You really have grown up so fast..." He finished.

Freddy nodded in agreement.

"You never gave up on him. You kept me motivated to keep searching, too." He stated. The boy could not believe what he was hearing.

He was finally being taken seriously! The adults could finally see how much he matured and how determined he was.

He sighed contently and embraced the warm, full feeling in his chest.

"Thanks... I love you, dads." He mumbled shyly.

Freddy chuckled and pulled him higher to nuzzle his cheek affectionately.

"We love you too... more than anything." Freddy assured.

Bonnie nodded and lifted a paw to pinch Gregory's cheek playfully.

"And you'll always be my baby boy!" He laughed.

The boy groaned in embarrassment, making both of his parents crack up.

They soon settled into a comforting, peacful silence. The boy could feel himself falling asleep against Freddy's chest.

"What's so interesting about the stars anyway?" Gregory asked Freddy.

His dad chuckled. "Don't get him started. We'll be here all night..." he teased Bonnie. The bunny laughed and smacked his arm in response.

~~

A.N.

Thank you so much for reading my series!! I hope you enjoyed it, I am going to release another series (a remastered version of my old one) on AO3 soon, so look out for that! (I'll let you guys know when)

I am going to be taking a break from stories after that before releasing my next big AU ~

If you have any questions, drawings requests, or want to see official art for my AUs, come to my Tumblr (Odd_G0ul)

Let me know what you thought, I really appreciate your kind comments. Have a wonderful day, and thank you again!!