Freddy Fazbear's Pizza - Monday, December 20th, 1993
It was a typical Monday; Mike was exhausted. As usual, he had stayed up too late on Sunday night, watching a movie and eating ice cream. He knew it was irresponsible of him to have done so, but he just wasn't tired enough to sleep. He also reasoned that if he wore himself out before going to bed, he wouldn't have time to wonder if monsters truly lurked under beds and inside of closets. Or maybe waiting in the hall just in case he needed to take a leak in the middle of the night.
Even if vile creatures truly weren't out for his blood, the thought that they could be kept him up at night. So, Mike resorted to binge watching things on t.v. and eating junk food until he was too sleepy to keep his eyes open any longer.
Mike debated getting a coffee, but was repulsed by the thought of how disgusting the bitter flavour would be, even if it was masked by an obscene amount of milk and sugar. In the end, he opted against it.
However, arriving at work seemed to remedy his fatigue on its own. Something seemed unusual about the atmosphere of the restaurant, as if something was going on. He couldn't place exactly why he felt this way, but there was definitely an upbeat energy to the room.
"Hey, Mike! How are you?" Chica cheered with a grin.
He jumped a little in surprise, but quickly smiled as he realized who it was. "Oh, hey Chica… Uh, I-I'm okay, how are you?"
"I'm great!" she enthused. "Ready for work?"
"I guess so, if you can still call this work," Mike replied.
Chica laughed heartily. "I'm sure coming to work must feel like a paid social outing as of now."
He nodded a little. "A paid social time in a really creepy kiddie restaurant from midnight to six, you mean."
"Aw, it's not that bad, right? You have all of us!"
Mike smiled slightly. "That's true."
"Do you still enjoy working here?" she asked sincerely.
"Uh… Yeah, I do," he said.
Chica beamed, obviously pleased by the news. "Oh, that's fantastic! I'm so happy you like it here, Mike!"
He laughed a little. "Calm down, I wouldn't want you to, uh…Burn out a circuit…?" he added with uncertainty.
"I won't, I won't," she assured.
He chuckled a little more. "Yeah…"
"Oh, right! I almost forgot! I was supposed to give you this!" Chica casually mentioned, passing Mike an envelope. "I was told you were to follow the directions inside," she explained.
He took the envelope from her and examined it, looking rather confused. Inside was a piece of paper with a crude map of the building scribbled on it in a blue pen. There was a path drawn from the front entrance to Show Stage, which was right beside him at the moment. On it, it said 'Follow the clues.' Mike stared at it in confusion, having absolutely no idea what any of it meant.
"What… is this?" he asked.
"That's a secret," she giggled. "Go on, Mike! Do what it says!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"Um… o-okay then," he replied, carrying the note as he wandered to his destination. When he got there, Freddy was waiting with an equally contented expression as Chica's.
"Hello, Mike," he greeted. "I see you got the map there. Are you ready for your first clue?"
"Clue? What clue? What's going on?" Mike questioned.
"You'll see," he replied happily.
"Oh, um, alright..." Freddy passed him an envelope, exactly like the one Chica had handed him before. He opened this one as well, and found two packets of hot chocolate, along with another piece of paper. The note said 'You're doing great, Mike. Keep up the good work! Your next hint is waiting for you in Pirate Cove, matey.'
Mike looks back and forth between the strange clue and the hot chocolate, even more baffled. He had no idea what the hot chocolate had to do with the hint, or even why there were these hints to begin with. From what he could gather, the animatronics seemed to be in on whatever was going on.
"Uh... Pirate Cove is next?"
Freddy smiled and nodded. "Keep going! You'll really like it, I'm sure."
"Like what?"
He grinned and mimed pulling a zipper across his lips. Mike took this as his cue to go hunt down the next clue in Pirate Cove. He juggled the hot chocolate and letters in his hand as he slipped inside the room, still trying to determine what was going on. He figured it was some sort of scavenger hunt, but why? Who was leaving the hints?
When he came to Pirate Cove, Reynard and Gilead were on stage, clearly waiting for him there. Much like the others, Reynard had a similarly pleasant expression to the other animatronics. Due to his lack of an endoskeleton, Gilead was unable to do anything but stare blankly in front of him, but Mike had a suspicion that he would have been smiling as well had he been able to.
"There he is, right on time!" Gilead cheered. "This clue is a bit vague, but I'm sure you'll find your way just fine."
Mike stepped up onto the stage and Reynard handed him the next envelope, one larger than the others. He tore it open and found a blue knit toque and matching mittens enclosed with another note. He slipped the hat onto his head and tucked the mits into his pocket. It was a lovely hat, clearly well made and high quality. It would certainly keep his head warm and protect his ears from the harsh winter wind. Mike reached into the bottom of the envelope and found the next note. This one read: 'Hopefully you'll be warmer now. Have you figured out what the surprise is yet?'
"I haven't, mysterious note-writing person!" Mike whined to himself.
"It'll all make s-s-s-sense soon, Mike," Reynard assured with a skip in his voice. "That toque suits you well, b-b-b-by the way."
"Oh, uh, thanks."
"The person behind a-a-a-all of this picked that out special for you. Th-th-they'll just love to see you wearing it, seeing it looks so-o-o-o nice on you," he praised.
He wasn't sure what he thought of that statement, considering he still didn't know who was leaving these clues and gifts for him. Mike went back to reading the note. 'The next clue is in Chica's favourite room in the restaurant, where all those cheesy pizzas come from.'
"Oh, it's in the kitchen!" Mike shouted excitedly.
"Get going, then!" Gilead encouraged.
"I will!" He departed from Pirate Cove with the envelopes, toque and mittens, and hot chocolate in tow. Mike rushed to the kitchen to see what was waiting for him there. He hoped it was a pizza!
When he swung the doors open, he found Bonnie leaning against one of the counters with a pizza box at his side. His suspicions had to be right!
"Took ya long enough," Bonnie teased playfully, sliding him the box.
He greedily pulled the box open, only to find a grey wool blanket neatly folded inside. He frowned as he lifted it out of the box. At least it looked warm. On the inside of the lid, another clue was taped to it that read: 'You thought that would be a pizza, didn't you? Don't worry, I'll make sure you get some later, I promise. Your next hint is waiting for you in the room between Pirate Cove and Show Stage. Happy searching!'
"Aw, this one isn't as clear!" he complained.
Bonnie snickered to himself. "Go over there and take a look. You'll find it eventually, Mike."
He nodded and departed in search for his next location. He stood in the Dining Area for several minutes before it dawned on him that the clue was directing him to Backstage. He wasn't too keen on the choice of location, but headed inside anyway. Mike found James waiting for him there, holding a black shoebox in his hands. At least, that's what it looked like to him.
James smiled at him as he came in. "I hope that clue wasn't too tricky," he commented, passing him the box, topped with a white ribbon. "Oh, I just love giving people gifts, even if they aren't from me! Open it, open it!"
His eyes widened in surprise at the size and shockingly heavy weight of the parcel. He carefully removed the ribbon and slid the lid off, revealing a black and white pair of shiny new ice skates. "Skates…? Why are these here? Are they even my size?" He checked and saw that they were, in fact, his size. Whoever was behind all of this must have guessed well. "Well, they are… I just don't get it. Hot chocolate, a toque and mittens, a wool blanket, and a pair of skates, of all things. What's with all of this?"
"Read the hint," James suggested.
As with the others, this present had a note attached to it as well. 'Aren't you tired of carrying all of that? Why don't you put it in the Security Office?'
"Well, it is getting pretty heavy," Mike reasoned.
He couldn't hide his excited smile. "What are you waiting for? Drop off your stuff!"
"I will, I will," he replied. "Why are you so excited to see me go to my office, anyway?"
"You'll see~!" James sang.
He was skeptical, but made his way to his cluttered office as the clue has told him to. Mike set his now toppling pile down beside his chair and plopped down in his seat, now even more worn out than when he had arrived. However, when he sat down, he spied a familiar green box propped up against the base of the fan: a box of Mike and Ikes. He grinned and picked the box up. Someone must've forgotten it there, but it was his now. As he tore the cardboard flap off and popped a candy in his mouth, enjoying the sweet flavour on his tongue, he saw Fritz step into the doorway of the office.
He chuckled softly. "The toque looks nice on ya."
"Fritz…?" Mike stared at him in bewilderment. "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged, a smile creeping across his face as he sat on the edge of the desk, facing Mike. "Well? What do ya think of the surprise?"
"Uh…" He popped another candy into his mouth. He wasn't sure exactly what to say, considering the strange assortment of gifts he had found, along with their notes.
Fritz reached over and plucked one of the candies from the box.
"Hey, those are mine!" he protested.
"Aw, c'mon. I think I deserve at least one after all the trouble I went to settin' this up for ya," Fritz replied.
Mike's eyes widened in shock. "W-Wait, you did this?"
"I sure did," he said warmly.
"But… why?"
He gazed into his eyes fondly. "Because I wanted ya to know just how special ya are to me. I wanted to do somethin' nice to show ya that."
"I-I, um… Wow…" Mike mumbled, not entirely sure what he meant by that, let alone how to respond.
Fritz seemed to have picked up on this. "I really like ya, Mike. A lot… So, I was hopin' you'd go out with me sometime. I was thinkin' we'd go skatin' and have some hot chocolate after. Whad'ya think?"
"L-Like hang out?"
"I was thinkin' more like a date, but if ya just want to go as friends... that's fine, too," Fritz explained. He wasn't able to hide the slight disappointment in his voice as he said 'as friends'.
Mike just stared for several moments, flabbergasted. "Y-You want to date m-me?" He gestured to himself, jabbing himself in the chest. He felt his cheeks burn as they turned a deep shade of red.
"Yeah, I-I do…" Fritz cleared his throat uncomfortably. He quickly looked away from him as he also began to faintly blush.
He ate another candy before setting the box back down on the desk, near where he had originally found it. Mike stood and hugged Fritz tightly, resting his head on his shoulder.
"I-I'd love to, Fritz..."
He was rather surprised at the answer, considering how Mike had initially reacted, but he was overjoyed anyway. He almost couldn't believe that he'd said yes to him. Beaming, he wrapped his arms around him in a loving embrace.
"Let me know when you'd like to go, and we'll go," he said fondly.
"Maybe after Christmas?" Mike suggested. "Mr. Fazbear said the Christmas party will be on Christmas Eve, so..."
"That sounds nice to me. We could, uh, go to it together, if you'd like. We'll still go skatin', of course."
Mike's eyes widened a little. "And tell e-everyone?"
"Why not? What's the harm in it?"
"I, um..." he hesitated. "I don't know..."
Fritz gently brushed Mike's hair out of his eyes for him and spoke gently. "If ya don't want to tell 'em yet, I won't be upset."
"I-I'd rather not. I'm sorry-"
"Mikey, it's okay. We don't need to rush it," he assured. "We'll go together, but not as a couple. How does that sound?"
He nodded, meeting Fritz's eyes.
"Aw, don't look so sad... Smile, please?"
Mike did just that, focusing on how excited he was to be dating Fritz, rather than the nerve-wracking explanations he'd owe to his friends and colleagues later. He reasoned that he'd be more comfortable to show off his new relationship with time, when he felt ready to. He just wished he wasn't such a 'nervous Nellie'. The one he truly needed to be afraid of, however, was his mother.
She would stop by to visit Mike as often as three times a week, always doting on him and treating him as if he were still a child and living at home with her. Yet, he never seemed to fight her on it, considering she would always cook and clean for him when she came. Free help was always welcomed. Of course, telling her he was seeing someone would hardly be an easy task. To her, he may as well have still been a child that needed to be protected from the big bad world, and telling her he was in a relationship would only cause her to panic. Mike decided that he simply wouldn't tell her; she didn't need to know about Fritz, especially as anything other than a coworker.
Most, if not all, of his tiredness has faded. When he had come to work, he never expected to find this waiting for him. Then again, he couldn't have been happier to have found it; how sweet Fritz was and how much he cared for him. It made sense to him now why Fritz had been so nice to him earlier and why he was so attentive to his every need. He still had no clue why he was interested in him, but Mike certainly wasn't complaining.
"Why did you pick Mike and Ikes, of all things?" he asked after a few moments.
"Because they had your name on 'em, and they're sweet, just like ya."
Mike snorted and rolled his eyes. "Wow, that's so cheesy," he teased light-heartedly.
He chuckled and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Aw, c'mon. I know ya liked it."
"I did," he admitted with a smile.
The only thing that was missing now was that pizza Fritz had mentioned in his note he left in the kitchen. Normally, he'd want to eat it all by himself, but now, Mike really wanted to share it with Fritz.
And there you have it, Pink Slip! (Mike x Fritz). When I started this fic, I never intended to ship them, but it just... kind of happened. But, I'm happy I did it! It's pretty comical that I have found next to nothing for this ship in the entirety of the internet (seriously, try it. I found one piece of fan art on Tumblr. His name's leonloser, and I really like his blog. Go check him out!), so this is my contribution I guess. The ship has sailed!
Side note, Happy Halloween! I hope it isn't 2 sp00py 4 u.