A/N: Happy New Year! I know 2016 wasn't a great year for a lot of us, but hopefully things will go better this time!

Anyway, sorry for taking so long to update. I can't guarantee a great schedule from here on out, since I don't want to leave a deadline in the dust again, but I'll give it my best!

Somewhere around two o'clock, Thomas and I seemed to have reached a silent agreement that I wouldn't ask him anything personal. He kept an eye on the doors, while I monitored the cameras.

I guessed it would be fine. Focus less on the past, more on the present? I could still try to figure out what he could do as a ghost without making him uncomfortable, right? I'd already gotten under his skin once, apparently; I didn't want to do it again.

I was lost in my own thoughts, trying to work out how to approach the topic, when I felt a hand brush over my shoulder. I jumped, but turned to see Thomas. He pulled his hand back, suddenly looking nervous. "Uh, sorry, but are you alright? You look a bit... ill."

"Hm?" I rubbed my eyes, bumping my glasses in the process. Taking a moment to clean them with my shirt, I nodded, saying, "Yeah, just tired. Body's still adjusting to a night shift, ya know? Usually adrenaline keeps me going, but it's been kinda quiet, so..." I trailed off, putting my glasses back on. When my vision readjusted, I noticed Thomas wasn't there.

Well, crap. I blinked, making sure I hadn't just missed him. He was sorta transparent, so that was possible, right? But no, he was well and truly gone. "Thomas? Where'd you go?"

I was just starting to worry-either for Thomas's safety or my own sanity- when I heard him yell "Sorry!" and he came back in, dragging a chair behind him. "I, uh, I was getting tired of standing." He grinned sheepishly, pushing the chair over next to mine, and sat down, rubbing the back of his neck.

I sighed, but I shrugged it off, instead saying, "I didn't know ghosts' legs could get tired."

"Heh, not really… I-I just wanted to sit down for a bit." He leaned over, taking the tablet off the desk when I reached for it, saying, "Hey, uh, you take a moment to breath, alright? You look like you could use it."

I looked at him, then smiled slightly. "Fine. Thanks." I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes and taking a moment to breath. Now was as good a time as any to carry out my plan, right? Thomas had already shown he could talk and watch the animatronics at the same time.

Then again, you see how well that turned out for him...

I opened my eyes, glancing at Thomas, then said, "Hey, can you… leave? The pizzeria, I mean."

He looked up, his brow furrowing. "N-no, I can't. I've tried, but I… can't."

Man, that must suck. I knew I wouldn't want to be stuck at Freddy's all day. Rubbing my forehead, I said, "Stupid question number two: can you, I dunno, make things float?"

Thomas snorted, shaking his head. "Uh, not that I know of." He made a face at the screen, but changed views before I could look.

"Alright then. Mind-reading?"

A strange glance. "I-I'm sensing a theme here."

"Really?" I feigned innocence. "I wonder what it is?"

He sighed. "N-no, I can't read minds. Sorry."

"Well, good. I don't want anybody in my head, personally. Messy place." I paused, then said "Possession?"

We went on like this for a bit, me bouncing ideas off of him and him shooting them down. Soon enough, I ran out of ideas. Shame, too-not just because that meant I was at a loss, but because seeing Thomas so confused was the highlight of the week so far.

I ran a hand through my hair, thinking. "So, really, being a ghost is the same as being human. Boring as hell."

He shrugged. "Well, uh, I might be able to do something, but I don't know what…" After standing up and closing the left door, right before Foxy hit it again, he added, "I-I mean, it's not like you can look that kind of thing up, right?"

"Yeah." The gears in my head started turning, and I was hit with a thought. "So we'll the first to record our research!"

"Hm?" He turned back to me, baffled. "W-w-what do you mean?"

"Well, think about it," I said, waving my hand in the air idly. "You said yourself that you could have some crazy powers, but you don't know how to use them." The more the plan pulled together, the crazier it sounded. Just the way I like it. "So, why don't we test? Trial and error, the way it's meant to be done!"

A moment of silence. "So, w-wait. You… are aware that this job is dangerous enough as it is, right? A-and you want to purposely try things that could get you hurt, or worse, while you're here?" I nodded, and Thomas shook his head. "No. Not at all."

I snorted in amusement, leaning back again. "Aw, c'mon, how bad can it be?"

"Mike, I'm serious." I sat up and saw the stern look on his face. "I-I won't let you mess around during your shift. W-what if you got hurt-or worse?" He pursed his lips. "Please, there, uh, there has to be a better way to do it than putting yourself at risk."

I sighed. I guess he had a point. Annoying as it was, I kinda had to focus on the whole 'not dying' bit for six hours. I folded my arms and rested them on the desk, placing my head on top of them. Something about this problem was just sort of… getting to me. My thoughts would start racing sometimes when I got frustrated; I'd get a bit overwhelmed, and I just wanting to get away from everyone. It was dumb, but I just couldn't help it.

"Oh, M-Mike, don't beat yourself up over it, alright?" Thomas touched my shoulder, but I shrugged him off, groaning. That was another thing-I hated being touched when I got like this. I heard him sigh, and I flinched. Crap, did I do something wrong?

I guess not, because I heard him sit down next to me and start talking. "I-I-I'm sorry, I forgot some people have a, uh, a thing about being touched." I glanced up, trying to pull myself together, and saw him smiling at me. "I-I'll wait. I can handle things for you."

I blinked, then sat up, shaking my head. "Nah, you don't have to do that. I just… have these moments, I guess. Dunno why."

Thomas hummed thoughtfully, then picked up the tablet. (So much for me handling it myself...) "Uh, y-you might want to see a doctor or something about that. That m-m-might be a real issue."

"Can't afford it. Besides, I've gone this far. Can't be anything real, can it?" I added, "I'll be fine, don't worry about me." I stared at the wall, thinking. Then, something hit me. "I could ask for extra hours!"

Thomas glanced up, then started grinning. "Yeah, then y-y-you'd both get paid extra and get a chance to try to figure out what I could do to help you!" I stood up, pacing the room, as he said, "I-I mean, Bella doesn't really get a lot of people to work here-usually she just has Walt handle watching things until about nine in the morning-maybe she'll let you work more!" He grabbed my wrist as I walked by him, pulling me to a stop and adding, "Good th-thinking, Mike!"

I stopped, rubbing the back of my neck. "What, that? Was kinda obvious, once I thought about it…" Still, I had to grin, too. It was nice, honestly, hearing somebody say that to me. I fell back into my chair, sending it rolling back about a foot. "Thanks, man." Thomas nodded in response, reaching a hand out, but stopped a few inches from my shoulder, making a face. I stared, a bit confused, until I remembered what happened earlier. I laughed despite myself, saying, "Hey, no worries, alright?"

"Ah, s-sorry, I-I-I just didn't want to upset you." He rubbed my shoulder, smiling awkwardly. I saw a flicker of movement from the tablet out of the corner of my eye, but Thomas had grabbed it before I could act. "Oh, n-no, kid. I thought I asked you to take a break?"

I sighed. "Really, Thomas?" I reached for the tablet, but he leaned back, holding it away. "Come on! What the hell, man?" I stood up, trying to get behind him, but Thomas lurched to his feet, ducking away.

"Stop, ugh, s-stop being stubborn, Mike! I-I-I-'m trying to help!" He stepped back through the door, leaned against the wall on the other side of the hallway, and crossed his arms, tucking the tablet into the crook of his elbow.

I stopped short of the door, glaring at him. "Really?" I glanced down the hallway, mustered up my courage, and flailed one arm out the door and vaguely in the direction of Thomas. No luck. I looked up to see him covering his mouth with his free hand, clearly trying not to laugh. I pulled my arm back in, staring daggers. "Listen, this seems ridiculous, but I'm not quite ready to trust you with my life yet, alright? Cut me some slack."

That seemed to get to him. He sighed. "L-look, I mean it, kid. Uh, y-you really look like you could use a break." He shifted for a moment as we stared at each other, then I sighed, too. Sure, this was annoying, being told to let somebody else do the job (hey, I have a bit of an ego, what can I say?), but he really seemed like he wanted to help. Besides, I had bigger issues...

"The hell's with all this 'kid' stuff all of a sudden? Are you trying to pull some sort of seniority thing on me?" I huffed, but stepped aside, inviting him back into the office.

"W-w-well, if it works, then yes." I groaned as Thomas went by, then yelled when he ruffled my hair. I reached up to pull it out of my face, and when I could see again, Thomas was trying-once again-to hide his laughter.

"Good lord-" I let out a breath through my nose. "Fine. You win." I sat down, crossing my arms and resting my chin on them. "Don't get me killed, alright?"

"I-I-I won't, d-don't worry!" I heard one of the doors shut, then let myself relax. Maybe things would turn out fine after all...

A/N: Coming back to say that I'm tackling something new that I've added recently: Mike's less-than-ideal mental health. I don't want to say what it is just yet, but I've never written a mental illness before, so if anything seems off now, or if-once I go into more detail-things don't line up, tell me, OK? I'd hate to screw this up, but I'm sure something will go awry :P. Hope this was at least sort of worth the wait!