Archive of Our Own ^beta

Mike groaned as he drove in the parking lot of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. The sight of the building gave him an unbearable feeling inside his stomach. Kind of like the feeling he'd get during his night shifts as he'd struggle for his life; a strange urge between wanting to vomit or to just let out multiple screams for no absolute reason. As soon as he found a spot to his liking and had turned off the ignition, he let out a sigh before banging his head on his dashboard repeatedly.

The pizzeria was closed, what with it being a Sunday, and he should have had a work-free day like all the other employees. Sadly, his boss had called in that morning and told him it was his turn to watch over the animatronics. It turned out that there was a specific “schedule” over the employees on who watched over them while the building was closed and who didn’t.

Why Mike was included was beyond his reasoning. He assumed that the boss just didn’t like him and decided to put him on the worst duty you can imagine. You know, rather than putting him on night duty, where he fights for his life just to survive for the night. Even though Mike spent half of the phone call arguing, the boss reminded him that he was just wasting precious time and that he would get less pay the longer he talked.

Mike didn’t have much going on in his life, anyway. He probably would’ve spent the whole day lying in bed watching movies he’d seen about a thousand times eating popcorn. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad thing until nightfall…

Shaking his head, Mike stepped out from his car, making sure to lock it, and had entered the pizzeria from the back. He used his keys his boss gave him to get in, slowly closing the door behind him. Once he was fully in the restaurant, he froze, awaiting to hear the sound of the animatronics wandering around.

To his surprise, the pizzeria was completely silent. He arched an eyebrow, looking around as he slowly made his way down the halls. His footsteps echoed within the building, seeming to be the only noise made within the restaurant. His breath hitched in his throat as he took a few more wobbly steps; dearly hoping that the animatronics were just turned off or something.

He found the security room, which was empty, like always. The fan had been turned off, which was probably why the building seemed so silent. He then turned it on in hopes of creating some background noise as he took a look around the building in broad daylight.

As he was wandering around the restaurant, a sudden crash made him jump. He looked around frantically, wondering if someone was trying to break in or if the animatronics had found him.

”HOLY FAZBEAR PIZZA, BONNIE! I didn’t expect you to BREAK the thing!" A female voice exclaimed from the kitchen. Mike narrowed his eyes in confusion, slowly making his way towards the room.

"Sorry. Guess I’m stronger than I think, huh?" A male voice replied. "I’ve been working out, too. Wanna’ feel?"

A sudden slapping noise came after that, and Mike managed to reach the hallway that led to the kitchen. He pressed himself against one of the walls as he held his breath, listening to the voices.

"Guys, stop fooling around," A heavier voice replied. "We’ve got a few minutes until someone comes to monitor us. We need to spend this time wisely.”

Mike heard footsteps drawing closer to him, and he felt his body start to run by natural instinct. He was only able to move about 5 steps until he heard a voice behind him exclaim:

"Howdy, Mike!"

He felt himself freeze as he slowly turned on his heel, only to see Freddy standing a few feet away from him, his top hat held in hand. Chica and Bonnie were behind him, giving him “friendly” smiles. Mike felt his eyes widen in fear. Were they going to kill him? Chase him down? Scream in his face until his ears bled? Or were they-

"Gee, Mike, you don’t look so good," Chica commented as she tilted her head, frowning. "You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!"

Mike gulped before straightening his position, silently praying that he’d remain alive for the rest of the day. He opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out.

"I know!" Bonnie suddenly exclaimed as he turned to his animatronic friends. "Maybe he’s just hungry! Needing a batch of your famous pizza, eh, Chica?"

"What a great idea, Bonnie!" Chica nodded with a smile. "I’ll go make some right now!"

"N-No!" Mike held his hands out, his eyes widened in fear. Chica stopped to give him a look. Mike cleared his throat.

"I-I’m here to watch you guys. N-Not get a treat…"

"Really?" Freddy asked, looking confused. "I thought they’d send Miranda. But this is close enough. Welcome to the restaurant, friend! I recon you haven’t been here when it’s closed, have you?"

Mike, still feeling as if he were about to wet his pants, nervously shook his head. “Uh, no, actually…”

"Oh, it’s a lot of fun!" Chica exclaimed as she clasped her hands together with a bright smile. "The place is empty, so you can do whatever you want! Well, as long as it follows Fazbear’s rules, that is.."

"We were just putting away some of the supplies left by the employees," Bonnie commented. "Can’t be happy with a messy kitchen, can you?"

Mike blinked. Why were they so…friendly? These were not the gruesome bots that tried to furiously stuff him into a suit. He’d call these versions better if it weren’t for him being alone with them!

"Still hesitant, aren’t you, Mike?" Freddy asked, shaking his head in disappointment. "That’s too bad. I thought you’d be happy having the restaurant all by yourself instead of being in that stuffed up in that room!"

"W-Well," Mike managed to spat out. "My job is supposed to watch you guys, and I’m kind of doing it right now, to be honest with you."

"Ah, what a clever guy!" Bonnie commented. "Already doing his job the moment he set foot in this place. I like him. Much better than that last security guard."

"You’re right," Freddy said as he stepped closer to Mike. "Maybe we should reward him!"

"NO THANK YOU," Mike exclaimed, immediately shaking his head. The animatronics glanced at each other.

"Gee, Mike, you sound stressed! Sure you don’t want any of my pizzas?" Chica asked, giving him a concerned look.

Mike ignored his grumbling stomach as he replied, “I’m sure, thank you.”

"Well, we’re going to hit Pirate Cove," Freddy commented. "Want to come with us, Mike? I mean, you ARE supposed to watch us and all…"

Mike groaned. Even though he REALLY did not want to follow them, it appeared that he had no choice. After a few moments of hesitation, he slowly dragged himself along behind them, hoping that this day would soon be over.

—

"Ye’ know, I never really thought of me future, I didn’t," Foxy replied as he rested his head in his good hand, dragging his hook along the edge of the table. "I always figured th' seas would be me home."

"I thought I’d be the star of a cooking show by now," Chica said, sighing in disappointment.

"And I thought I’d be in a famous band playing at concerts by now," Bonnie murmured, leaning on the table. "But I guess THAT couldn't happen."

"Hey, Mike," Freddy commented as he turned to the security guard beside him. "Where did you think you would be by now when you were little?"

"Uh…" Mike hesitated, eyes wandering around the room. The hell was he supposed to say!?

The other animatronics stared at him as they waited for an answer, which only made him feel more anxious. He managed to mutter, “A-A fireman.”

"Fireman?" Chica asked, confused.

"They save lives by putting out fires in various places," Mike explained, shrugging. "As a kid, I adored them."

They had been doing this for the past hour. The animatronics discussing random things as they dragged Mike into their conversations. Mike had felt the fear drain out from him long ago, but it had been replaced with boredom.

Deeply.

"Sounds borin’," Foxy commented. "Savin’ lives…wouldn’t ye’ rather chug on rum?"

"I wouldn’t," Chica narrowed her eyes in disgust. "I think I’d black out!"

"Yer’ just a lightweight, Chica," Foxy teased. "Ye’d be blackin' out aft' th' slightest sip, ye’ would!"

Chica groaned as she crossed her arms, dropping the subject. It was silent afterwards.

"Say, uh, Mike?" Bonnie asked, turning to the human. "What do you do in your pastime? I mean, you’ve got to a have a hobby, or something."

"I don’t do much…" Mike commented, eyes traveling to the floor. Freddy scoffed.

"You have to be good at something.”

"Well…" Mike hesitated, eyes traveling to the floor. "I-I like to dance, sometimes."

What? It’s not like they’d TELL anyone!

"Dance? What’s a ‘dance’?" Chica asked, giving the others a confused look.

"I don’t know what that is, either," Freddy commented as he looked towards Mike. The security guard was soon faced with the animatronics staring at him; all waiting for an answer.

Mike mentally sighed. Well, he should’ve expected this.

"Dancing is where you move your body a certain way to a song."

They blinked, expressions unchanging. Bonnie asked, “So you…move to songs? Don’t you already do that?”

"No, you do it so it matches up to the beat. They say it brings people closer because they are sharing body language," Mike shrugged.

The animatronics glanced at each other, clearly not knowing what he had meant. Mike groaned in frustration. Of course they wouldn’t.

"Can ye’ show us what ye’ mean, lad?" Foxy finally asked, turning his attention back to Mike. The rest of them did, giving him eager looks.

"Well…Do you have any music?" Mike asked.

Freddy shook his metal head. “No, they usually have that playing in the speakers.”

Mike took his phone out of his pocket and had started to browse through the songs he had listed. After managing to find a suitable one, he tapped on it. It was currently loading, so he took this opportunity to think about what he was doing.

The song he chose required two people, so he needed one of them that wouldn’t kill him if they were to fall on top of him. And someone who would look least awkward dancing with him...

"Chica," Mike said as he placed his phone on the table. "Would you mind if I used you as an example?"

"Me?" Chica asked, placing a feathered hand to her chest. "Uh, I guess…"

"Great," Mike said as he stood from his seat, offering Chica his hand. When she took it, Mike then lifted her out of her seat and lead her to the middle of the room. Thankfully, there was a lot of space, since the tables had been put out of the way.

Once they were in the center, the music suddenly started. Mike took this opportunity to place a hand around Chica’s back as he held her hand in the other, getting into a formal position. Chica blushed, a bit uncertain on where to put her hand.

"Place it behind my throat. Like this," Mike instructed as he then lifted her hand to the appropriate place. She then clutched her other one in his as he placed his arm around her back once again. They were then forced to make eye contact, due to the closeness of each other.

"Alright, since you do not know what to do, I’m going to lead you, alright?" Mike said as he gave her a warm smile. "We want to be smoothly coordinated, but I doubt we’ll have much luck. But that’s alright, because first time’s a charm, eh?"

"R-Right," Chica smiled as she nodded, blushing once more. Foxy groaned from the table.

"Stop flirtin’ with th' lass n’ get busy already!"

"Oh, is the fox getting jealous?" Bonnie asked, turning to him. This resulted in a hook to the face, severely scratching a portion of Bonnie’s head. Which, thinking back on it, is actually pretty impressive.

"AH! WHAT THE FAZBEAR, MAN!?"

"Get along, you two," Freddy snapped. "We need to pay attention."

"Uh…You guys alright?" Mike asked as he looked back at the table. Bonnie whimpered, holding his head in his hands as he leaned on the table. Foxy laughed.

"Doin’ fine, lad! Continue with yer’ dancin’!"

Mike shrugged before turning back to Chica. He then started to demonstrate a few steps with her, in which she struggled with. She'd stumble a bit, but Mike would be there to catch her as he went a bit slower, murmuring a few hints to her. Once she managed to get the hang of it, they moved smoothly. They even managed to waltz around the room, minding the tables and chairs that had been set aside.

The animatronics observed them. Freddy seemed most intrigued while Foxy was too busy staring at how close they were. Bonnie was still whimpering like the wimp he was, clutching at the spot his friend had hooked him in.

Mike managed to teach the basics of the tango to Chica, in which she seemed to spark interest in learning. She seemed to do well, still struggling with many of the steps and moves. But Mike had contained patience, helping her correct her mistakes through the dance. The music was still going on in the background, but neither one of them really needed it to guide them, what with them being WAY off from the original pattern.

Mike had then given Chica instructions on what to do once he spun her. She nodded, and they practiced for a bit until she got a bit dizzy. He waited for her to catch her breath before practicing it with her once more. Once they had gotten it down, he then gave her instructions on what to do once he dipped her. This seemed a bit more difficult to get down, due to her having some difficulties leaning, but she managed to lean at least far enough for Mike to offer her enough support.

After they finally accomplished a successful dip, they then let go of each other as Mike bowed. Chica giggled.

"That was fun, Mike! I can see why you would do this in your free time!"

"It’s just a hobby," Mike nervously shrugged as he rubbed his arm, turning back to the table. "Do you think that example was enough for you guys?"

"Yeah…I’m not doin’ that," Foxy shook his head. "Seems like too much trouble."

Freddy shrugged. “I think it’s pretty cool. I doubt I’d be able to do it that well, though.”

"Maybe I can practice with you, Freddy!" Chica said as she wrapped her arm around the bear. "That way, we can both be taught!"

"Ye’ know what? I’m suddenly interested in doin’ it," Foxy said as he stood up from his seat. "How do ye’ do it again, Mike?"

Bonnie silently cried, still clutching at his face. Mike rolled his eyes as he watched Chica lead Foxy to the middle of the room, asking for his supervision. The security guard followed after them, watching as the pair tried to attempt the dance once more. As he watched Foxy being lectured by Chica, he shook his head.

He knew he shouldn’t have told them his hobby.