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Henry couldn't have been more proud of his and William's creations. They were both proud, and for very good reasons.
The animatronics' AI defied all logic in how responsive it was. Sure, there were only two of them, Fredbear and SpringBonnie, but they bounced off of each other so well that they seemed almost human.
Henry looked at the animatronics performing on stage while he was propped against a wall by the entrance to the backroom.
The animatronics weren't perfect. Henry didn't know if he was going crazy, but it felt like they were a bit too life-like at times. A big problem was when someone had to wear one of the suits while their AI was on the fritz. The springlocks worked as intended, meaning that the suits were wearable, but the problem came from the animatronics themselves.
William had worn SpringBonnie's suit on multiple occasions, and each time, Fredbear was noticeably closed off, not even dignifying William with a response in some cases. They could recognize when the other was in suit mode, and it seemed that they didn't appreciate being away from their real partner.
"I think they might have separation anxiety."
William squinted at his newspaper, his legs still propped on the office's desk. It was obvious that he was purposely ignoring his business partner.
"SpringBonnie." Henry continued. "Remember when Fredbear was in for repairs last week? Well, while you were busy repairing him, I watched SpringBonnie on stage. The poor rabbit was struggling to function as usual. They might have separation anxiety."
William placed his newspaper on his crossed legs, looking at Henry with a furrowed brow. "He's a robot."
"A robot with feelings, William." Henry fired back.
William chuckled sarcastically, putting a hand to his head. "Of course! A robot with feelings. A robot with artificial 'feelings' that don't matter in the grand scheme of things."
Henry paused, taking another look over the bills laid out on the table. "William-"
"Couldn't you just program this 'anxiety' out of him?" William's volume raised ever so slightly. His time as a father had improved his ability to control his volume considerably. "I helped with the cleanup work on their AI. I could probably do it myself."
"Don't." Henry said. It came out harsher than he meant. He lifted his arms off the desk. "I'm not doubting your abilities as an engineer or a designer or a programmer, but doing something like that would be unwise."
"And why is that?" William asked, moving his newspaper up slightly.
"Because then, they won't trust you." Henry argued. "They'll become fearful of you."
"Then I'll program that out."
"William, we built these animatronics to be as life-like as possible to entertain and tend to children while acknowledging them as individuals. If you keep bending them to your will, then someday, there won't be anything left to bend."
William flicked up his newspaper, burying his face in an article he'd read five times over at this point.
"William, I know you want everything you make to be perfect, but you can't control every aspect of your life. You just have to let some things be. Besides, you’ve seen how close they are to being human. Imagine if you tried to control an actual human like that.”
William sighed. "... Why are you so insistent on calling me William? Whatever happened to those old nicknames from our youth?"
Henry squinted at the way his business partner shuffled around in his seat. William did this when he was trying to change the subject because he knew he'd lost yet another argument.
"We grew up." Henry finally responded. He stared for only a moment longer before looking down at the paperwork in front of him and groaning. It was his turn to handle the finances after all.
William was getting fed up with Fredbear. He didn't want to say he hated both of the animatronics, because SpringBonnie was his creation. Even though Fredbear's blueprints were used as a basis, William had made SpringBonnie, both the animatronic and the character, without any assistance from Henry aside from those original blueprints.
William didn't like Fredbear because of how he took after Henry. Both animatronics took after William when it came to their overly formal speech patterns, but Fredbear was always questioning him, while SpringBonnie was usually silent or spoke very little.
"What were you thinking?" William scolded as he sat Fredbear down on the table. Again, his time as a parent had trained him to not start shouting right out of the gate.
Fredbear sat perfectly still. "It's Valentine's Day. I was singing a love song. It fit the theme."
William shook his head, Henry's words about not tampering with the animatronics ringing in his mind. "Where'd you even learn about that?"
"I've seen multiple pairs of customers doing it while their children held their heads in embarrassment." Fredbear squinted at William's lack of tools. "The action is called 'kissing,' correct?"
"Y-" William cut himself off, not wanting to encourage his behavior. "Don't do that ever again."
Fredbear closed his eyes and lowered his head. "... Ok."
William smirked to himself as he turned to leave. Maybe Henry was right. Maybe he should just let them be.
"Ok." Fredbear repeated. "I will never kiss them on stage ever again."
William stopped suddenly and about-faced. "I see what you’re doing. Don't you dare try to twist my words against me.”
William glared at Fredbear, who was smiling smugly at him. "With all due respect sir, we were programmed and designed to be partners. You never specified how intimate that partnership should be, especially after the curtains close."
“But you’ll slip up.” William took a step forward. “You can try to hide it, but one day, you’ll give into old habits.” He held his head. “I don’t even want to imagine the PR nightmare that would cause us.”
“William, please-”
“Don’t call me that.” William was almost shouting. Good thing it was just after closing time.
“... As I was saying, William.” Again, William could sense the animatronic’s smugness. “You’re getting far too bent out of shape over this. Why should you care about our feelings for each other? Our ‘artificial feelings that don't matter in the grand scheme of things’.”
Fredbear squinted at the way his co-creator shook in place, staring back in shocked silence. “You know, the walls between this room and your office are surprisingly thin. It’s a wonder you didn’t find out about us sooner.”
William looked the animatronic up and down. He had seriously just lost an argument to his own creation. “Do whatever you want with your ‘partner.’ Just remember that I built him, and can take him apart just as easily.”
“One last thing.” Fredbear stood up, looming over William. “Spring isn’t male. Stop referring to them as such.”
William looked at the clock. It was getting too late. Far too late. “I designed him. I have looked over his blueprints more times than the amount of seconds that you’ve existed. I know that he’s-”
“A rabbit.” Fredbear said with half-lidded eyes. “They told me themselves. They aren’t male or female. They don’t want to be male or female. They’re just a rabbit.”
William decided he’d had enough of this hogwash, and so, he left.
He could deal with this another day. Not tomorrow, but definitely another day.