I'm not a huge fan of FF's format, tbh. You're better off reading this over at A03 where I update the tags as chapters are added. Check it out!

Take out the XXX's.

/works/17689595/chapters/41726351

Mr. Drew felt, given your easy temperament and ability to retain a stern, commanding voice, that you'd be perfect for the job. It had made you swell with pride. What a compliment! Besides that, as a script writer, you would keep his little creation far, far from the most important parts of production. That part... enthralled you less. Essentially, you were deemed 'not as important' to production.

Mr. Drew believed writing was easy. Apparently. So how hard could it be to watch after a demon while still continuing your previous work?

It had been difficult at first. With your twenty-five cent raise, you were given very little else to accomplish this feat. Somehow, you were supposed to contain and subdue Bendy. Allll by yourself, with no help. It sort of made you feel like Mr. Drew was mocking you.

But, with a little quick thinking, and with money from your own paycheck, you mustered up a genius plan. You were going to catch him and strap him into a dog harness. From there, you could lock the latch and leash him, giving you an easy way to keep up with the lil' devil. He would no longer be able to avoid you by clamoring up into the vents, or hiding in empty office spaces.

Catching him had been the first issue. Because he was three feet tall, he was slippery. You had to be constantly on guard in case he popped up. He'd been very clever with avoiding you after Joey had demanded he obey you. So, you just kept the harness on hand at all times.

You finally caught him in the break room. He'd had his back turned and, like the little shit he was, was pouring salt into the coffee pot. All you had to do was sneak up behind him. From there, it was like wrestling a greased pig. He completely ruined your work clothes.

Bendy didn't speak very frequently, but he did a lot of talking during that first day.

"This is too tight! I'm suffocating..."

You stuck two fingers under the harness, judging the looseness. He had plenty of breathing room, assuming he breathed at all.

"Hm. Feels fine to me."

"You're wrong! [Y/N], I'm dying! You're killing me! Some fine job this is, Joey will be pleased as a peach when he finds his precious and most favorite actor belly up! All because of you!"

You rolled your eyes. "And I'm sure he's happy about me parading around work with ink soaked blouses, too. Come on, keep up!"

He whined and fell limpy onto the floor. You had to physically drag him by the leash to get anywhere for nearly a week. Everywhere you went a long streak of black trailed behind you, muddling the clean floorboards. The janitors had been pissed, so Mr. Drew had been, too.

Bendy was tracking you with his beady little eyes when you left Joey's office after a scolding. He didn't say anything, but his posture and expression said it all. He was pleased with himself.

"If you get me yelled at again," you'd wagged your finger. "I'm going to lock you in a cat carrier and carry you around that way instead!"

That frightened him. Oh, how embarrassed he would be to be carted about like a pet. So he walked, but at an annoyingly sluggish pace. Sometimes he'd stoop low to pick up something off the ground, like litter. And sometimes, he'd walk so close to your feet that you nearly tripped. You didn't dare attempt to pick him up, knowing full well that he'd ink up the new clothes you'd bought with your raise.

Yes, it was very difficult at first. The first time the two of you shared anything that resembled understanding was after a night that was, apparently, very hard on the demon. You'd arrived early to work that day. Bendy had not been found tied up in your tiny office space, where you'd left him. Rather, you'd found him trapped in the music room, where the in-house band recorded music.

He'd been tied to a pipe, but he had burst the pipe in the middle of the night. It made you nearly regret your methods of containment, knowing he was so easily yanked around by any who held his lead. The only reason he had yet to escape the music room was because someone had thought to securely lock the door behind them, and the vents were high in the ceiling.

When you got the door unlocked, there was half a foot of watery ink coating the floor. It rushed out as the door creaked open. The broken pipe had trickled ink all night at a low pressure.

Bendy had been... shaken. You asked him what happened, who locked him in the room, but he was reluctant to answer. Very silent that day. You'd been able to swaddle him in a blanket without incident, to which he then curled up under your desk for a good part of the morning.

When you said it was lunch time, he grabbed your ankle and shook his head. Though he didn't speak, you could see the anxiousness in his eyes. Instead of eating, you had sat on the floor with him and talked.

"You know... you're my responsibility now. I'm the one who is supposed to watch you, to make sure you don't get in any trouble. But if someone threatened you, in any way, you need to tell me. I'll tell Mr. Drew, and he can deal with the culprit appropriately."

Bendy, who was still under the desk, had his head turned away and looked blank.

"I know you're supposed to be bad. But I can't help it, look at you. Maybe you're no God send, but you can't really be a devil, either. Let me help."

After a silence, you reached your hand out with uncertainty. He tensed when the back of your finger just barely touched his cheek. A gesture to calm and draw attention. When you returned the hand, you found no stain. That was a first. He was rather solid today, despite being so scared.

His head finally turned to you. "...He just wanted to talk. He didn't hurt me."

"Who?"

"Sammy." Bendy's eyes went back to staring at wood, but he continued on softly. "He said he wanted to know what it was Joey did, because Joey won't tell him. I don't know what that means, but I didn't like how he looked at me."

"Why'd he lock you in there?"

"Wasn't done. I think he meant to take me back here, but you arrived before him."

"And he really didn't hurt you? Are you okay? You've been under that desk all morning."

His tail flickered and he shrugged. "I don't like Sammy," he replied simply.

He'd sulked for the rest of the day. The days following that, however, passed by smoothly. Bendy didn't try to trip you any more, and he'd taken to staring at you when you worked. You didn't mind, as long as he behaved.

After that, you'd started locking him in your office at night. You never again clocked in to find a missing demon.