You messed up again. You were adopted by a sweet animatronic bear, with soft golden fur. He loves you with all of his soul…. This is how you repay him for his kindness? The house is a mess, the dishes aren’t done, and here you are. Overwhelmed, and doing the one thing that relieves stress… Scrolling through your phone, being useless… Your siblings and cousins ruined the house over thanksgiving, and the dishes piled up. You’ve already had a lot of trouble keeping up with dishes anyways. You can only imagine what awaits you when your dad comes home… You’ll get yelled at for sure, grounded… When you go to say ‘I tried! I really did! I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, I’m sorry…’ he won't understand… You’re gonna make him regret loving you… Why couldn’t you do the one thing that you were told to do?! Well, two things, but still.
You keep scrolling, practically screaming at yourself to get SOMETHING done. The toys and clothes on the floor stare daggers at you. The dishes taunt you from the kitchen, making you feel more worthless. You can’t bring yourself to do anything that you are told… Pathetic. Are you not? It doesn’t help That your mom isn’t that understanding. She’s harsh, because you’re the oldest, and should be able to do basic things, but for some reason, it’s too hard. You shut down, you feel a deep pain within yourself… It hurts to try to do, and it hurts to not do. So you do what makes you happy, and it’s not productive. You lie in your room, being a waste. Waiting for your adoptive dad to get home…
There’s a click noise, as the door opens. You brace yourself for the worst. “Oh dear”, you hear from the front door, “Y/N, please come here my child!”
You reluctantly get up from the couch and walk over. The Nightmare bear looks down on you, with a stirn expression. “Goodness Y/N, your mother and I told you to clean the living room and to do the dishes! You’ve been unable to do that since we gave you those chores…”
You bow your head in shame. You look up sheepishly at your father’s face. He raised his voice a little. Not enough to scare you, but it’s obvious that he’s upset. You mumble softly, “sorry dad… I-I got overwhelmed…. I couldn’t even try…. I just gave up…. I’m sorry….”
You wait for yelling, or screaming. You wait for him to punish you for this stupid thing you couldn’t do. But instead of doing that, he sits you down. “Y/N… My child… It is alright my dear. If you were having THIS much trouble, you could’ve asked me for help, and I would’ve gladly helped you! Now, you’re going to be grounded, yes. But only until your chores are done, and over with. I’ll give you a task one step at a time, to help you with breaking it down. Now give me your phone, and we’ll get through this predicament together.”
Your father smiles softly at you. It’s a wonder how a living embodiment of fear can be so… Comforting. You smile back, thankful for his understanding, and you give him your phone. With human parents, they would scream at you, take your things, and threaten to destroy them or throw away the things you love. But your father is not human. He may be the embodiment of fear, but not the fear of disappointing parents, and the consequences that follow. The fear he ismade of does not define his existence. He is made of fear, but he does not make anyone fear him. Humans need to be more like him, especially parents.
He guides you through your chores, making sure that you don’t get distracted. He lets you choose whether or not you want to do a harder chore, or an easier one first. You start with an easier chore. You pick up the laundry and put it in the dirty clothes hamper. A start. An actual start! You couldn’t do that on your own for a whole… Well, since you got adopted! You soon finish the first task, and move on to the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next after that. You made actual progress now that you are being guided. The chores are soon completed, and you feel proud of yourself. The only one that’s more proud is Nightmare Fredbear. He picks you up, and holds you close. His chocolate and vanilla scented fur brings you further comfort. “I am so proud of you, my child,” he tells you, as he sits you atop his second muzzle on his stomach. He nuzzles your face, and kisses your forehead. You may be in highschool, but you will admit that being treated like a little kid is very comforting. “You did such a good job! You can have your phone back now. Just please let me know next time when you want to give up, so I can help break things down again…”
You smile, welcoming all the affection that he’s giving. Why couldn’t human parents be so understanding? You both continue to cuddle happily. Your dad is more important than your phone anyways. “Ok… I’ll let you know next time,” you smile. He purrs, as he continues to nuzzle your face. “Thank you papa…”
‘Papa’. He doesn’t mind whatever you call him. Mr. Nightmare, Mr. Strings, Father, dad, daddy, Nightmare Fredbear. You can call him whatever you wish. But… ‘Papa’, well… It holds a special in his soul, and you know that. He starts purring louder, and both his mouths smile wider. Your younger siblings are the only ones that call him papa regularly. You mainly call him dad, but you felt like this was a good time to call him that. You and your papa spend the rest of the day cuddling. More of his animal-like instincts take hold as you cuddle, his purring gets louder. “Y/N, do you mind if I…? W-well you know sometimes, when Frisk, or your other siblings don’t want to take their baths, I’ll sometimes…”
You know what he’s asking. He wants to groom you, like a bear cub. He normally grooms your siblings without question, but he knows how weird you find it. He wants to make sure that you’re ok with him giving you a tongue bath. You shrug. This is just how bears, and Nightmares bond, from what you know. A social thing. “Sure, go ahead.”
You feel him gently licking your head, purring. It was wet, and weird, but oddly… It felt nice. It tickled a little, but you didn’t mind. He licks your whole head, your hair is soaked, and your skin feels a little slimy, but it made you feel happy. You let him lick wherever else he wants to clean, as long as you’re comfortable. He purrs the entire time. You’d purr too, if you physically could. He soon finishes grooming you, and you're clean. You’re actually cleaner than you normally would be if you took a shower. What the hell is in Nightmare spit? Well, it doesn’t matter now. After your bath, you cuddle up against him again. Burying yourself in his soft fur. You soon fall asleep in his arms, smiling happily. You love this family, better than your foster families. You’re happy to finally be home.
