Hm, not much to say about this one! Showed a couple of characters that haven't been seen much, introduced another one for the first time.

Oh, and foreshadowing! That's fun.

(...also old-ass writing that I had to talk myself outta fiddling with-)

(EDIT 08/30/21: *slaps hands on desk* ALSO I'M RETCONNING SOME OF THIS. There were certain elements that I just couldn't justify fighting to work in, and while I'm leaving this 'fic untouched, do keep in mind that this isn't strictly 'canon' to my AU anymore. Hopefully I'll one day finish writing my FNAF2-era story and have a cohesive version of those events in my 'verse, but who fricking knows at this rate.)

"Thomas!" Fritz jumped up from his seat, grinning widely as his old co-worker made his way down the hall. Thomas seemed to move to go around the desk, bit Fritz forwent that, instead leaning over the desk to wrap Thomas in a hug.

The taller man started laughing, wrapping his arms around Fritz's shoulder as best he could. "H-hey, Fritz! I, uh, I d-didn't think you'd miss me that much."

"Heh, why wouldn't I?" Fritz straightened out, pushing himself off the desk and back to his feet. "You were a great guy!"

Thomas averted his eyes shyly, muttering, "Th-thanks, I just, uh… Not used to being so fussed over, i-is all."

"Well, no matter." Fritz grinned, grabbing Thomas's hand and shaking it quickly. "It's cool to see you back here, man. Even after, y'know…" Thomas flinched, looking away, and Fritz added, "Yeah, I heard you didn't get moved to the main project like I did, and when the accident happened…" He trailed off, a cold quiet filling the room.

Finally, Thomas spoke. "Yeah, it, uh… It was r-rough. But, uh, hey, a-at least we can start anew here?"

"Yeah, guess so…" At least Thomas wasn't there to see it, Fritz thought. I don't think he could handle something like that…

A grunt came from down the hall, and the two of them turned to face another man running towards them. Thomas grinned in response, waving excitedly. "R-Ross, c-come here!"

The other man-Ross-groaned as he reached the office, shaking his head as he stared at Thomas. "Finally got outta there…"

Thomas scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh, s-sorry. Uh, guess they felt the need to do a more… through interview for the security guard position."

"You got one of the guard shifts?" Fritz asked. Realizing he hadn't introduced himself, he nodded, extending a hand to shake. "Fritz Smith. I'm one of the mechanics for the animatronics."

"Ross Weston." Ross shook his hand stiffly, but Fritz noticed one corner of his mouth curl up. "Take it you already met Thomas here?"

"Uh, Fritz a-actually used to work at…" Thomas froze, trailing off awkwardly, remembering why the last place had been forced to close down. Oh, sure, it wasn't meant to stay open for long, just long enough for this location to get funded, but it'd been forced to close early after…

Ross glanced at Thomas, seemingly getting what Thomas was trying to say. "Yeah, I get it." Fritz opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to continue, but Ross sighed loudly, leaning back against the table. "Well, hopefully we can keep things straight here…"

Thomas noticed the hurt look on Fritz's face, and desperately wanted to clarify. This wasn't Fritz's fault, Ross wasn't mad at him, specifically, but…

Oh, but this was Ross's life. He… He didn't want to put this out in the open without Ross's permission.

"Fritz! Thomas!"

All three men jumped at the sudden voice, but Fritz grinned, turning to see the source. "Hey, Rich!"

The taller man, who'd somehow slipped in without being noticed, smiled in response, taking Fritz's hand for a brief shake. "Good to see you two again." He glanced sideways, seeing Ross seemingly for the first time, and turned to offer his hand to the new guard. "Sorry. Richard Maddock."

"Ross Weston." Ross raised on eyebrow, shaking the other man's hand only briefly. "Yeah, I think I heard the boss mention you guys while I was in there."

"You guys?" Thomas asked, eyes betraying the confusion he was politely trying to hide. Similarly, Ross could've sworn he saw a glint of surprise on Richard's face, but it passed as soon as it came.

"Oh, so Daniel really did take the job?" Richard shrugged a bit over-dramatically, saying, "I know he was planning to, but I didn't know if he ended up going for it or not…"

"Well, boss mentioned there being more than one of ya, so I guess he did." Ross paused thoughtfully, but before he could voice whatever he was thinking, Richard stepped back, a small smile forcing its way onto his face.

"Well, I really should be going." He sighed, all of a sudden seeming very tired.

"Oh, uh, a-alright." Thomas smiled back in response, either oblivious to the oddness of the scenario or simply not caring. "I-it, uh, it'll be nice to finally meet your brother!"

"Yes, right…" Richard looked away hesitantly, not really seeming to share Thomas's opinion. "Well, he's a bit of an… odd one, so I'd be careful with him if I were you." He shook his head, turning back towards the hallway. "Well, it was nice to see you three."

"Yeah, same to you!" Fritz waved after Richard, then turned back to the other two as soon as Richard was out of earshot, a look of concern on his face. "Uh, so, anybody know what that was?"

"I-I don't know," Thomas replied. Glancing over Fritz's shoulder, he caught a glimpse of another man walking up the hall, only to pause when he ran into Richard. Thomas took a quick look at the stranger-was this Daniel? He'd heard quite a bit about Richard's younger brother, but now that he took in the sight of the younger Maddock-sharing his brother's dark hair and large, tall build; but without the almost-daunting confidence his brother possessed-Thomas had to admit, he hadn't hadn't expected Daniel to be so-

Oh, please, he scolded himself, be professional. He shook his head, turning away and hoping nobody could see his face redden upon realizing what he was thinking. Ross did, however, evident in the chuckle he hid behind one hand, before turning back to Fritz and saying, "Yeah, well, I'm taking bets on who's gonna snap and kill us all first."

"Ross!" Fritz scoffed, shaking his head. "Honestly…"

"Oh, d-don't mind him," Thomas said, shooting an annoyed look at Ross, despite the tiny, amused-or maybe bemused-smile on his face. "He, uh, h-has a morbid sense of humor."

"Ah whatever." Ross checked his watch, then said, "Well, I guess I'd best take off. Got an odd shift, so…"

"R-right!" Thomas bounced on his heels, the strangeness of the past few minutes waning as he remembered his new job. "I-I-I'll be back, uh, b-back at the apartment when mine's done."

"Works for me."

"It was nice meeting you, Ross!" Fritz called after him. "Good luck on the new shift!"

Luck. Ross chuckled. He didn't want to scorn the sentiment, but 'luck' hardly seemed needed. It was just a six-hour shift, midnight to six. Nothing could possibly happen in that short a timeframe, even at a place worth as much as this. He wouldn't be needing any luck.