Michael Afton x Reader

new in town

After a three week long road trip from your small hometown in Texas all the way to Washington where you'll be attending school, you finally drive into the parking lot of the apartment you're staying in. Although you were originally unsure of moving to the middle of nowhere in Washington for a full college scholarship, the long road trip was what convinced you. For years it had been your dream to escape your hometown and drive away to a big city with a new life, and although moving to a different small-town wasn't what you had in mind, this was exactly what you wanted. It was nice to get away from your old, boring grey life and start fresh- starting with a fresh, new apartment.

After getting your key from the main office, you head up to your room: 213B. it took a while to find a way to the second floor, since you soon learned that there was no elevator and the stairs were hidden. there was no sign on the door and you had assumed it was a storage closet until you opened it to find the staircase. not your best moment, but oh well. The only person who had seen you struggle was the lady at the front desk, who looked younger than you anyway.

After getting to your one room apartment, you go back down to your car and unload all of the boxes and suitcases you brought with you. there wasn't any need for a moving van because you didn't have many possessions anyway and your car was big enough to fit everything. After bringing up the last box, you begin to unpack everything to make it as homey as possible. you start by putting your favorite band posters up on one wall, your tapestries on another and leave the last two walls blank for now. That's enough work for today, you think. seeing that it's now almost midnight, you take your bedsheets and alarm clock out of their boxes, make your bed, then fall into a deep sleep until the next morning.

-next day-

your alarm wakes you up at 8:00 and you began to get ready for your new job. Although you didn't need too much money for college, you liked having some breathing room to be able to splurge every now and then, and working also gave you something to do, as you have very few hobbies and would otherwise spend your days bored. you're working full time as a dayshift worker at a kids pizzeria until school starts in two months, when you will work there only part time. For now however, your shift starts at 10:00am and ends at 8:00pm. you shower, thow on a black tank top, some jeans and your favorite beat up red converse, then grab your bag and head out the door.

Since it's only 9:00 and it's a 20 minute walk from your apartment, you decide to not drive and instead get your first good look around town. you pass a few restaurants, a small grocery store, a thrift shop and what looks like a slightly run down crystal shop. the sign above the door reads "Flora and Fauna's Tarot Emporium." interesting. Finally, you reach your destination: Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. It's a cute family friendly restaurant and you can't help but wish you had something like it in your hometown. Since you don't yet have a key, you knock on the glass door and hope someone can let you inside. you see the silhouette of a tall man holding what looks like a wrench walk towards the door. He opens it for you without hesitation and smiles at you. 

"Hey! you must be the new day shift security guard. it's y/n, right?" he asked as you walk inside.

"yep, that's me! sorry for having to knock, I don't have a key yet." you respond.

"oh, of course. The owner, Henry, will take care of that. His office is right over here, follow me. I'm Michael by the way, I'm the... new head engineer." he's extremely kind to you as he walks you down the halls to his boss's office. well, your boss's office now, too. you find yourself extremely intrigued by him- his face, hair, smell and the way he walks. You can smell the oil off his dirty uniform shirt, meaning he was probably working on a project just moments ago. He smiles at you like a friendly man with nothing to hide, nothing to fear, but his eyes tell a different story. His eyes belong to a tired man who has nothing to lose, and nothing left to hang on to. He must've noticed you staring into his grey eyes and he looks away, either flustered or embarrassed, you can't tell.

"uh, well here's Mr. Emily's office. He'll get you all set up, but if you need anything else I'll be in the parts and service room!" Michael tells you with another smile, and he runs his hand through his hair before walking away. you wave goodbye and head into Mr. Emily's office. he's an older man, at least 30 years older than Michael, and he has reddish-brown hair and a beard. he gives you a map of the building, a to-do list and a set of master keys as well as other equipment you need as a security guard, such as a flashlight and walkie-talkie.

"oh and Mr. Emily, where can I find-" he cuts you off.

"Oh please, call me Henry! we're practically all family here." he says with a chuckle.

"Alright then, where can I find my uniform, Henry?" you ask.

"Of course. How could I forget? The uniform rack is in the parts and service room. you only need the purple shirt and black pants, the hat is optional. and here's your name badge." He hands you a badge with your last name printed on it, and then you walk out to the parts and service room. The pizzeria opens in 15 minutes, so you try to hurry. When you find the room, you also find Michael again. He is facing away from you, and seems to be screwing eyeballs into a metal skeleton. This room is practically his office, as he has a makeshift desk with his name written on it in dry erase marker. on the desk are some open folders and journals- you can't read what he's scribbled down from your distance, but one of the folders seems to be full of missing children's posters, and many pictures of an older man, slightly resembling-

"hey y/n! didn't hear you come in. what's up?" he asks after finally seeing you standing in the doorway.

"ha, sorry to intrude. I'm just looking for the uniform rack." you respond. He points beside him to the corner where you see some metal racks on wheels. you walk over and grab the pants and button-down shirt in your size, then grab the baseball cap with the company logo printed on it as well. since you're just wearing a tank top, you throw on the shirt. At that exact moment, Michael looks over to you and then quickly looks back down at what he was working on. you giggle, amused by his awkward personality.

"Relax, I won't change in front of you. whatcha working on, anyway?" you ask, wanting to talk with him more. He lights up and begins explaining the skeleton to you in detail. watching him get excited over it makes you smile- he must really love his job.

"-all the animatronics here have the same basic endoskeleton, but I tweak some of them for different characters. I've made Mangles' as safe as possible since she's a take-apart attraction and I don't want any of the children to hurt themselves on his endo if it gets exposed, and-" he looks up from his project and locks eyes with you. For just a moment, the two of you stare into each other's eyes and the rest of the world melts away, if only temporarily. For just that moment, the burden his eyes carry seem to lighten, and you feel your cheeks getting red. it doesn't last, however, since a tool falls off Michael's desk bringing you both back to reality. you look down, embarrassed and ashamed.

"I should, uh. go put this on, we're opening soon." you mumble, not daring to look up from the floor, afraid you might meet his mysterious yet perfect eyes again.

"y-yeah, this thing won't build itself! heh." he responds and tries to move all focus onto the endo he's building to ignore what just happened. you quickly slip out of the room and into the staff restrooms where you change completely into your uniform and put your bag into your locker. you let out a sigh and silently reprimand yourself for whatever the fuck that was. After a minute, you walk back to work just as the doors unlock. 

word count: 1480