Words in Chapter: 2096
Written: March 11, 2015
Current Characters: Mike, Jeremy, Foxy, Freddy, Chica, Bonnie
Warnings: Humanized


He was running late for work. The buses had been backed up, not showing up to his stop on time, and then the traffic was so bad it felt like he would have gotten to work faster if he'd gotten out and walked. Too bad it was a little too far to do such a thing, or he would have jumped off the first chance he got.

Luckily for him, it seemed like he wasn't the only one who had been having trouble. A few of the other servers had already called in to tell the boss they'd be late but they were in fact on their way it's just that traffic sucked, so he didn't feel too bad. The entertainers hadn't shown up either yet, besides Foxy. And only having one of them in the building was probably going to kill business a bit for the morning.

He looked up when one of the other servers walked up to him, shedding his jacket with a grin that lit up his chocolate eyes. Mike smiled at the man.

"Hey, Jeremy! Traffic didn't kill you?"

Jeremy laughed, hanging up the coat on one of the hooks set into the wall just inside the kitchen. He pulled down the apron, tying it into place around his waist.

"Not this time. I swear it's getting bad," he answered. "Looks like we're gonna be understaffed today. Ready to take on a hundred tables at once?"

"Not at all," Mike grinned. He headed out with Jeremy to get the restaurant ready for the customers. "What are they going to do with just one entertainer?"

"I guess Foxy'll do a few more shows than normal, and he'll be working as many tables as he can handle. Knowing the rest of them though, they'll be here before long. The only thing that'll keep them away is if they got into an accident or something drastic like that. The kids will be happy either way."

"Mike," a voice cut in. The man looked up to find Foxy looking at him from across the room. He looked at the table instead of the yellow eyes. The entertainer wasn't in costume, which surprised him, instead wearing the thin black clothes they wore beneath the heavy costumes. With a heavy sigh, he walked over to the taller man's side to get the conversation over with.

"Not dressed for work?" He asked, taking the tray of salt peppers to help setting them out. Foxy wasn't wearing a prosthetic.

"I'll get dressed in a few minutes. I didn't want to get the coat caught on anything while getting everything set."

"You don't talk like a pirate all the time?"

Foxy laughed. "Only during work hours, lad. It's easier to talk normally most of the time."

"What did you call me over for?" Mike finally asked, following the man to another table. Foxy would distribute the shakers and drink menus and the such while Mike carried the trays.

"To talk to you, without the others around. And to say that I'm sorry for my behavior and the scene I caused last night."

Striking yellow eyes met bright blue and Mike found himself having to remind himself to take a breath. He hurriedly looked away, nodding if only to get Foxy to look away. Once the entertainer continued to walk, Mike found his voice again.

"It's all good. How are you doing? It looked like you were pretty upset about something when you stormed off," he said. There was a pause and Foxy gently took the tray from him and put it down before raking a hand through his own hair tiredly, suddenly looking so much older than he was.

"I've got to go get dressed, we're opening soon, and I've got to be ready by then. They made the costumes so hard to get on, you practically can't do it by yourself." Mike's eyes moved to the stump, and his face burned in shame as soon as he realized how Foxy probably took the action. The taller of the two simply walked away.

Once he was out of sight, Jeremy, who had dropped back to give them space, whistled lowly.

"That could'a gone better."

"Oh shut up," Mike snapped. "I hardly know the guy, it's going to be easy to offend him! It's not like I was trying to upset him."

"You're just good at it."

Mike would have hit him. He was aiming to, to give him a good punch for that comment, but had to abort that plan when Bonnie and Chica walked in hand and hand. The young woman smiled and waved as she was dragged to the back room. Mike tried to fight back the smile her behavior caused, but in the end shook his head and went back to work already feeling a little better.

He was the unlucky soul who had to open the doors that morning. There was already a line

forming outside with many eager kids bouncing from excitement at it finally being time for them to go inside to see their friends. The parents looked thankful at not having to hear the constant questions about how long it would be any longer.

He got the families settled at the tables and the rest of the servers dispersed to start taking orders while they waited for the entertainers to get dressed and in place.

A small family, just a young couple with a little girl, had him stop and chat. She asked about the entertainers and what they were like. She seemed amused when he told her a couple of the stories they'd shared with him at the bar. He wasn't allowed to leave to take their order to the kitchen until Bonnie and Chica had come out and mounted the stage. It was only then that the little girl let go of his arm so he could walk away.

He quickly dropped off the order then went to watch their show, curious as to how they planned to do it without their lead singer.

"Hey kids! Welcome parents! Ready to listen to some awesome music?" Bonnie called, earning many squeals of delight from the children scattered about the room. He smiled at them all. Picking up the guitar and starting to tune it, he turned to Chica with a gleam in his eyes. "Looks like our friend Freddy's running late! What should we do, Chica? We can't sing without him!"

"I don't know, Bonnie. Maybe one of our friends would help us!" she answered. She turned toward the hallway; Mike moved to get a better look at whatever had caught her attention and wasn't surprised to see Foxy standing in the doorway. "Hey, there's Foxy the Pirate! Why don't you help us sing?"

Mike thought he saw a brief look panic cross the man's face as he said, "The kiddies don't want to hear this ol' sea fox sing, lass. It's been much too long since I last gave it a go."

"We'll sing a song you know, just give it a try! We promise we won't laugh if you make a mistake," Bonnie said. He smiled encouragingly when Foxy approached the stage, watching as Chica helped him up and gave him Freddy's microphone. "That's better! Ready kids?"

They were greeted with another cheer and the three started to sing "You Are a Pirate," much to the amusement of the parents. The children joined in, almost drowning out the backup singers, though Foxy could still be heard singing, clear and strong. After another song or two, Chica and Bonnie left the stage to let Foxy go through one of his normal skits, an adventurous tale about finding and fighting the Kraken.

Chica made her way over to Mike, leaning close to ask, "So what did you think?"

She left before he could answer and he didn't have time to hunt her down since he had work to do. He went back to his tables, catching sight of Freddy rushing in the front door and heading straight to the back to get into costume. Shaking his head, he went to check on the table with the little blond girl. The mother beckoned him over.

"Do you think it would be alright if we went to talk to Foxy the Pirate? He wouldn't mind, would he?" She asked softly. Mike glanced at the stage where Foxy was finishing up the story, a smile coming to his lips as he thought.

"I don't think he'd mind meeting one of his fans. Come with me, I'll take you to meet him."

The little girl and her mother followed close behind him, the girl trying hard not to giggle every few seconds. They weaved between the tables and stopped in front of the stage just as Foxy was jumping down. Mike grinned which made the entertainer lift an eyebrow in question.

"Hey Foxy, meet one of your little fans," he said. The girl giggled and approached shyly, looking up at the tall man who knelt to be closer. He rested his hook on his raised knee.

"Ho, who be this? What do ye call yerself, me lass?"

"I'm Mel!"

"That's a fine name, Mel. What can I be doin' for ye?"

The little girl blinked her big eyes up at him, raising her arms for a hug. Chuckling, he obliged. She stayed there for a while before reaching up to tug on his hat. She didn't quite manage to pull it off, only making it shift so the ears weren't centered, but she seemed happy to have gotten it to move. He laughed with her, a light in his eyes that Mike hadn't seen before. He asked her a few more questions, all of which she answered giddily, then it was her mother's chance to ask one.

"Is that hook real?"

"Aye, as real as yer arm is. It ain't sharp, if that's what worries ye," he answered while pulling up the sleeve to show them. They both gasped, and little hands moved to prod at the prosthetic curiously. She poked at the plastic and traced the seams within it until she reached the soft skin of his upper arm. Her fingers lingered there for a moment. The whole time Foxy simply stayed still, watching her with a kind eye.

"I thought it was just a prop," the child's mother said. She smiled a little when Foxy nodded.

"How'd you lose it?"

"That's an interestin' tale, lassie. Full a danger. Ye sure ye're ready for it?"

"Uh huh!"

Foxy rose to his feet, hopping back onto stage to sit with his legs hanging over the edge. He patted the space beside him with his hand. Mel scrambled up the stairs to sit beside him. Once she was settled, he motioned for the mother to sit on the other side. Momentarily surprised, she joined in and Foxy wrapped his arm around the child to pull her close. He leaned in and began to speak.

"Me an' me crew were sailin' the high seas when we happened upon a black ship hoistin' the colors of the great navy. Ye know what that be, don't ye? A pirate's greatest enemy was approaching! We thought we were done for!"

"Oh no!" Mel squealed, looking scared. Foxy squeezed her shoulder. He smiled and it showed off the rows sharp teeth in his mouth. "What did you do? What did you do?"

"As the blasted ship came close to us…"

The mother pulled Mike aside to speak with him while Mel was distracted by the story. She glanced around then took out her wallet, slipping a bill into his hand.

"Thank you for the wonderful experience for my daughter. Split that with him, will you? She was so excited when we told her we were coming here for her birthday, and you've all exceeded our expectations. I'll be sure to recommend this place to my friends. Thank you."

He smiled, looking over at the two still happily talking on the stage. He liked seeing Foxy like this, smiling and animated, looking for all the world like nothing mattered but making that little girl laugh. He recalled Bonnie's comment about tips and glanced down at the money in his hand then back at the woman awaiting his response.

"I'll make sure he gets it," he said quietly. He watched as the woman took her daughter back to their table. Foxy laughed gently at the sight and walked off to return to work. Mike looked back down at the money, making up his mind.