Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza: everyone in town knew the place, and, consequently, the history behind it. It was an old restaurant, one that families had gone to over several generations, as it had been passed down through the owners family for quite some time. With its homey atmosphere and happy workers, there was no wonder as to why people kept coming despite what had happened years ago. However, that didn't mean there wasn't an underlying sense of uneasiness when someone walked into the building, especially in the months following said incident.

Parents kept close eyes on their children at all times because they didn't want a repeat of the bite or -goodness forbid- the missing children incident. The poor children hadn't been found until they had long since decayed, leaving their mourning loved ones behind. No one wanted such terrible things to make a reappearance in the news any time soon, if ever again.

That was entirely fine with Ethan, the murderer of the five missing children. He'd had enough of a so-called "thrill" in killing them.

No one had discovered that it had been him who did the deed though, surprisingly. He'd gotten away with their murders scott-free. Sure, people had suspected that violet-clothed man did it, but the police hadn't been able to collect any solid evidence to convict him. Not that they would have been able to, not with how clean he left the rooms he had killed those poor kids in. He'd made sure any hand prints or anything else that could be used against him were thoroughly cleaned away before the police had even thought to search the restaurant itself a week after the runts were reported missing, despite how so out of his mind. As much as he hated himself for his actions, he was too terrified to confess to it.

A sharp feeling of dislike for himself escalated into full on loathing later on however, as the previously happy-go-lucky animatronics turned into beings of Hell during the night. Ethan didn't believe in the supernatural, but he could admit the things they did while he was on shift after being switched to nights were pretty strange. They -Freddie, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and sometimes even old Fredbear in the Parts and Service room- would constantly stare at him while he made his evening rounds before heading to the security office as the sun went down, like they wanted to hurt... no, kill him.

Their intentions were made clear when they began moving off the stage after an "improvement" was made to their systems. Because they weren't allowed to roam during the day and would start to get jerky movements if they didn't walk around at all, the owner of the restaurant had a program installed so they would only be able to roam at night. This made Ethan's job all the more difficult because the animatronics decided that was the best time to make their moves against him.

He knew no one would believe him if he told them the damned things were trying to kill him, so he simply asked his manager to spend a night with him and survey them as he worked. Needless to say, two heavy steel panic-doors were added to the doorways leading into the office not long after that dreaded night. His manager gained a heavy distrust of the machines afterwards and didn't dare to spend another night with him.

Ethan didn't dare to find out what would happen if they got their grubby paws on him. He certainly knew enough to know it wouldn't be good. The corpses of his former nightwatch coworkers could attest to that. If they weren't him and still stuffed in the spare suits, then what would they do to him? He wasn't suicidal enough to think they wouldn't harm him if given the chance. Their eyes were too intent to say otherwise.

Really, he should have gotten another job, but then what or who would stop someone from finding out what he did?

So he kept working at Freddy's. For five years he guarded his secret, for five hellish years he clashed with the animatronics alone.

That was until the day he discovered that he would be working with someone, just yesterday. Since they had started working at Fazbear's up until the next week, all nightshift workers had worked a full week before letting one of the others take over. Ethan would trade off with one person or another, who would trade off with whoever hadn't been on shift yet, who would then trade back with Ethan and so on...no one took shifts with someone else. Apparently the others would be working together for the first week of the new schedule while he worked with a new guy...whoever that was.

"I'm telling you, Tanya, the new nightwatch is a real stud! Broad shoulders, slim waist, strong arms and legs; you'd think he'd be in a professional sport if you only caught a glimpse of him. Such a handsome face too! I think he might be a male model, but I'm not sure," Ethan overheard one of the waitresses say as he walked in early for his shift.

Keeping his ears open, he walked down the hall passed the bathrooms as Tanya seemed to answer, "I know, Becca! The manager had me get his uniform measurements because he was busy with someone on the phone and couldn't get away from the conversation. He has a really deep voice. You know, like the kind of voice that sends shivers up your spine when it's spoken in your ear? Yeah, that kind of voice!"

"Really?"

"Really! And he was so patient too! He stood perfectly still while I worked, and I didn't hear him give a single peep of complaint either! And let it not be said that he isn't completely ripped, if you know what I mean."

"So he's a complete package," Becca stated, her voice trailing off as if in her mind was in thought.

Yeah, more like in the gutter, where she herself should be.

Oh? Was that too sassy or mean? Well, Vincent had long since stopped caring whether he was considered nice or not. Too bad.

Just as he was about to approach the Security Room, he heard Tanya call out to him from the restaurant entryway, "I hope you have a good night, Ethie! See you in the morning!"

God, he fucking hated that nickname. Well, at least he'd have someone to make him coffee in the morning before he parted for home. He always did prefer Miss Tanya to that wench, Rebecca.

He plastered a polite smile to his face as he turned around, "You too, Tanya! I'm looking forward to it."

As he turned back to the office, he caught Rebecca's snide remarks, "Why do you ever bother with him? He's a creep!"

A thump followed, sounding like something was shuffled before hitting wall as if shoved, "Quit being rude, Rebecca! What's he ever done to you?"

"Nothing! He's just a creep! Like, are you blind? The dude looks like zombie and he's pale as all hell! You heard that he was suspected of killing the five kids, didn't you?"

"He's been working the graveyard shift for five entire years now! What do you expect him to look like? As tan as a surfer?" Tanya said snarkily, "I firmly believe in the phrase "Innocent until proven guilty" and he hasn't been proven to have done anything, so lay off of him!

Yeah, she's a sweety, that's for certain. Too bad Rebecca was right about him though.

Having heard enough, Ethan finally turned into the Security Office. There, sitting in the rolling swivel chair, was the new guy. Everything the girls had said was true, though they'd forgotten to mention the other man's short blond hair, moderately tanned skin and the sheer length of his legs.

Sheesh, just what did this guy do in his off time? Throw Freddy-sized boulders across a field? The dude looked like he could crush Ethan's hand if he offered a handshake. Where the hell did he come from and why was he flipping all of Ethan's switches? The senior guard sure as hell hadn't seen him around town before.

His new coworker looked up with chocolate eyes after realizing he was being stared at and stood up -Good Lord, there was no way he was any shorter than six feet tall- as he extended an arm out to the man in purple.

Oh crap, yep, he was going for a handshake. Fuck! Keep it cool, Ethan, keep it cool!

Ethan reluctantly took the much larger hand in his own, "You must be the new guy..."

The palm was warm and the fingers firm, slightly roughened from the exercising he undoubtedly did, and not at all the bone-breaking vice he'd thought they would be.

The blond smiled lightly at the shorter man, "You bet'cha! The name's Jason, but you can call me Jay. Everyone does!"

Ethan inwardly cringed at the amount of enthusiasm in the other's voice though he smiled on the outside, "Nice to meet you, Jay! I'm Ethan! Ready for your first night?"

Jay laughed and nodded, giving Ethan a confident look, "You could bet your ass I am!"

Chapter Text

The silence was awkward for Ethan. He didn't dare to start speaking for fear he'd say something incredibly stupid.

Fuck! Why was he feeling like this? Why should he give a damn as to who this dickhead was? Jay could take his pretty face and perfect teeth, and hit the bricks!

Ethan wasn't scared! Not at all! How could he possibly be afraid of the blond fucker who was nearly twice his size in both height and muscle? Really?

Err... Okay... Maybe that was a little intimidating... Or a lot...

Turns out Ethan didn't need to start any conversation because Jay did it for him, "From what I understand, you guys are in need of a new guard because someone got switched to a day shift job. Am I right?"

That was easy enough to answer.

"Yeah, Scott, the guy who was switched, was made the boss's secretary recently. Now it's just me; you and me if you decide to stick around after your contracted first week," Ethan nodded as he turned on the fan.

The dinky little thing was on it's last legs and would need replacing soon.

"Just us watching some children's animatronics? Aren't two grown men a bit overkill for that?" Jay raised an eyebrow.

Ethan deadpanned, sighing, "You'd think so, but, no, it isn't. They have a roaming feature in their programming to keep their joints from locking during their shows. Officially, we're here to make sure nothing gets damaged and no one breaks in and tampers with the robots."

"That makes sense..." Jay agreed with a slight nod.

He looked around the office, "There's only one chair... are there any others I could possibly borrow?"

"There should be another in the closet at the back, though it's probably not a comfortable one," Ethan frowned as he looked at the small door in the security office's back wall.

"That's fine by me," Jay shrugged, opening the wooden door.

Immediately he regretted it as he backed up, coughing roughly as dust filled the air.

It seemed that the cleaning crew had been neglecting their duties. A thick cloud of dust billowed out of the closet while the two wheezed and tried to breathe.

The blond closed the door with a sneeze, "I think I'll skip the chair for now and just grab one from somewhere else tomorrow."

"That's probably for the best, yeah," Ethan muttered, rubbing at his watering eyes.

Turning back to the lone chair in the room, Jay laughed, "Guess we'll have to share."

Ethan turned towards him sharply, amethyst eyes blown wide as a beet red hue rushed across his face, "What!"

"What?" Jay looked at him, taking in his flushed face before he realized what he'd said, "Oh! No, no, no! Sorry! I didn't mean it like that!"

He rubbed his neck awkwardly, "I meant we could take turns sitting..."

"Oh... Alright," Ethan said uncomfortably while moving over to the desk to grab the surveillance tablet.

Sitting in the swivel seat, he continued, "Anyway if you'll look over my shoulder, I'll show you what we're supposed to do."

Ethan tried to keep his calm, he really did, but after his little panic attack his mind had gone straight to the gutter. There were so many positions that went through his thoughts and caused his face, ears, and neck to burn. Ethan knew he wouldn't be able to hold the other down for long, if at all, so his imagination supplied him with all sorts of wonderful ways the other could pin him down and take him.

That scared Ethan more than anything else. He had never willingly bottomed for anyone before, he'd always topped whenever he felt the need for a romp in the sheets, which begged the question as to why he was considering it now? Why did the thought of giving himself to the taller man turn him on so much when the mere mention of bottoming absolutely disgusted him not even fifteen minutes ago? Not only that, but Ethan had just met the guy too!

Did he have some sort of kink for people taller than him? There weren't all that many people he'd met that fit that category, but it wasn't impossible...

Now Ethan could only hope the blond didn't notice the growing tent in his pants.

"Anyway, now you want to pay attention to where the animatronics are at all times. You can view through the cameras by clicking the little squares in the map at the lower right corner of the screen, then just flick a finger up across it if you want to get out of it," he explained as he went through the cameras, stopping a moment to observe the janitor working in the lobby.

They really needed to get a new one, the dude literally swept all the dust, crumbs, and hair he'd collected under the long red carpet in the entryway.

"Talk about sweeping things under a rug..." Jay snickered.

Ethan groaned irritably, "His name is Tom, and he is the laziest of all the people in the clean-up crew. I'm sure he'd rather play video games all day, every day, than actually have any job, much less anything to do with cleaning."

"I think anyone would rather do anything other than clean, but it wouldn't hurt to put at least some effort into it. He doesn't seem all that tired either. Is he really just that lazy?" Jay tilted his head to look at the younger boy on the screen.

"You have no idea... People have tripped over that rug who knows how many times because he leaves that stuff under it and forgets to fix the folded over corners. Tanya gets so pissed when he does it, she always gives him Hell for it the first opportunity she gets," Ethan said with a grin.

"The fiery redhead who helped me with my clothes?"

"Yep, she's the one."

Jay hummed, "I can see that happening. She doesn't seem like the type to put up with anyone's crap..."

"You should have seen her last week when a kitchen worker put peanuts in a salad that went to a kid with an allergy. She'd specifically told him not to and why, but he did it anyway, saying, "The peanuts give it flavor, I can't leave them out!" The poor kid looked like a balloon by the time an ambulance rolled around, he'd nearly suffocated to death. I'm pretty sure Eddy wet himself when Tanya went stomping up to him after all the customers had left. She'd socked him in the face so hard she broke his nose. Damn, was she pissed," Ethan smirked as he recalled the event.

Jay grinned, "I bet he learned his lesson, huh?"

"A person can only hope... He's been skirting around her like a kid would Legos on the floor, not that he hasn't stepped on them before..." Ethan rolled his eyes, "He's the one who aggravates Tanya the most after all. I'm surprised he hasn't been fired yet..."

So far so good, Ethan had managed to keep his calm. He could feel Jay's soft breathing on the right side of his neck, the puffs of air cool on his warm skin, and a hand pressing into the upper left corner of the chair's backrest, but he couldn't help the feeling of ease that ran through him as they talked. Jay's voice was calm, content even, and that was an entirely new experience for Ethan.

No one had ever been like that around him before, not anyone he could remember anyway. Ethan had been alone for a large majority of his life, shipped from foster home to foster home since he was five and had never stayed anywhere for very long in order to make any friends in his childhood. It'd been that way until he reached sixteen years of age and could no longer be supported by the state of his birth.

Ethan's parents were long gone with his mother six feet under and his father who-knows-where doing who-knows-what. He didn't know either of them all that well, if at all. The woman who had brought him into this world, an Alexandria Kean, had died when he was two years old and left him in the uncaring hands of her sister and brother-in-law.

Hannah and Ronald Linns, a busy couple without any desire to have kids, had made it very clear that he wasn't wanted around. From their cold interactions with him, grabbing his arms tightly as if he needed to be kept of a leash, to strict house rules and punishments whenever he'd supposedly done something wrong, Ethan knew that they absolutely hated him and what he represented to them. Shackles. They had wanted the freedom to do whatever and go wherever they pleased, something they couldn't do with a child.

They had finally decided to simply leave the country without him, leaving him alone in a locked room on the second floor of their house without food or water. He had gotten extremely lucky that a neighbor had come to check out why they had suddenly left a week later, he would have died otherwise.

Ethan hated them with a burning passion.

Hannah and Ronald weren't what he was thinking about at the moment though, not when Jay started talking again.

"Well, looks like it's just us now... Mr. Ants-in-his-pants just left," he said as the lights in the rest of the restaurant went out.

Ethan nodded, tension creeping into his shoulders, "Yep, just us... Just for your information, you may want to keep an eye on the lights outside the doors."

"What? Why?" Jay looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"We had a bit of incident with the animatronics in the past..." the brunet said uncomfortably, "To accompany the program for their roaming feature, they also have a program that allows them to... remove threats, so to say. Anyone still here after dark is considered a "threat" and pursued by them accordingly."

Jay hummed with a frown as he flicked the right hallway light on and off to take a peek through the doorway, "So... in essence, what you're saying is that they're going to try to harm us in some way and that's why the heavy steel doors were installed..."

"Spot on."

Jay was silent for several moments, trying to think of what to say.

"Well, we have five and a half hours to go. Think you can stand me for that long?" he grinned at Ethan jokingly.

Ethan snorted back, "I can handle you just fine."

"Your hard-on says otherwise..."

"It's hot in here, get off my case!"