Chapter Text
It had been half an hour before (y/n)’s fazwatch let out a small beeping sound alerting her that she should escorts the animatronics back to rockstar row for their nightly maintenance. A sigh left her mouth, standing up as she felt Freddy’s paws seize their movement to let her move and stretch her back, hearing a few satisfying pops from her joints.
(y/n) clapped her hands to gather everyone’s attention, realizing that they were already staring at her. A rush of hotness bloomed on her face when she caught monty’s hot red eyes, giving him instead a lopsided smile to which he returned with a knowing smirk. She faked a small cough to hide the embarrassment but it backfired as a series of painful coughs came out soon after. Bending over to stable herself on the table with one hand and the other hand immediately covered her mouth in silent fear of the flowers spilling to reveal themselves to her animatronic friends.
It was not because she didn’t want them to know about her feelings, but because she knew how much pain and panic this would cause them. Having been there during glamrock Bonnie’s accident and watching them break down made her realize how much human they can be.
(Y/n) was just glad that they were still new to the internet and have no idea of what the disease is.
Her intense coughing alarmed the whole band and Chica quickly rushed to fetch their handler a cup of water while freddy rubbed their back gently with a look of concern on his furry face. Roxanne stared at (y/n) deep in thoughts, as if trying to solve a puzzle. Monty stood up to approach her, grabbing the glass of water from Chica on the way, and then kneeling so he was at eye level with (y/n). A long tail slithering towards her left ankle as he growled lowly at freddy, who frowned at the alligator but let go nonetheless, allowing Monty to pull her closer then offering the glass of water to her.
(y/n) clutched her throat tightly, begging that she could keep it down until after everybody left. It took her a few seconds to stop coughing and to barely stable her breathing enough to accept the water in front of her face. She gulped it down with haste and shot a weak smile towards the worried animatronics.
“Thanks, Chica.” She rasped, giving a grateful look to Chica who squirmed on her spot. Monty grunted beside her, tilting his star shaped glasses to get a better look.
“What’s up, luv? Got sick or somethin’?” His gravelly voice against her ear sent a shiver down her spine and she willed herself not to blush so obviously. An awkward chuckle left her mouth as her watery eyes found his ruby reds once again. This time his stare was much more intense, searching her for answers she dare not give away.
“’Tis just hay fever. I’ve been awake all night trying to fix your new schedules this month, Mike’s been going overboard with new choreography dances and songs he wants you all to perform next week.”
Monty huffed at that, making a small stream of steam to exit from his nose, tickling (y/n) on the face. It was slightly wet and smells like sea salt or something. “Sounds like ‘tis ‘is problem to me.” He stood up, towering over her just so he could ruffle her hair like he would to a kid. Her small hands grabbed his clawed ones to stop further ruining her hairstyle, grumbling as she does so. “It’s a me problem, Monty. I’m your handler slash manager, even though my pay begs to differ. I’m responsible for everything that concerns you all, including your schedules.”
Freddy sighs sadly at what you said, ears dropping along. “This is what I’m worried about, superstar. We do not wish for you to risk your health just to take care of us. Perhaps we should ask Mr. Mike to hire you an assistant or maybe another handler to ease your burdens.”
He smiled holding out a paw to (y/n). She held it but a look of hesitation plastered itself on her face as she walked out of the kitchen and towards the path leading to rockstar row, hand in paw with freddy and the rest of the band follow not far behind them.
It’s true that another handler would certainly let her work more efficiently since the workload would be divided for a few weeks, and perhaps she would still have enough time to train them before she applies for a leave. The most important thing to her though, is that they both share the same sentiment and agree that the band and the other animatronics are just like humans and should therefore be treated with the respect they deserve.
(Y/n) did encounter a handful of problems regarding that issue, especially with the staff and some over privileged parents but it wasn’t something that can’t be solve with a few subtle threats. She nodded her head absentmindedly.
Freddy let our a wide grin at her motion, clapping his paw like a kid would. “Excellent! I’ll let Mr. Mike know about hiring another handler for your convenience.”
“Great, a newbie and her newbie hands touching me.” Roxanne rolled her eyes with a shudder. Chica laughed, nudging her. “You haven’t even met them yet. I remember how you were when we first met (y/n),yet it only took her a day to make you wag your tail.”
Roxanne growled at the chicken, “It’s obviously different, birdbrain.”
“Yeah, it is.” Chica rolled her eyes in response. Roxanne clenched a clawed hand to chica’s face as if threatening her.
(y/n) smiled as she listened to the bickering behind them, mentally noting down roxy’s new order of nailpolish. She always ran out way faster than she should since she let’s her little girlfriend use them all the time whenever Chica visits her room. Meanwhile, Chica uses her monthly purchases on different types of food from the outside world. Making Roxy and Freddy cover for her necessities, sometimes. The only things she could ever get out of Montgomery was a Gatorade or Crocs that was a size too small for him. Not like they actually have any shoes his size. (y/n) snickered to herself.
The neon lights above directed them towards Freddy’s room first. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, superstar. Before management finds a new hire, I will make sure to assist you with anything you need, even during the day time. I do not want you to overwork yourself again like last time.” His warm smile melted her heart as she gave a small ‘awww’ at him.
“You’re willing to do so even when you’re with the children?” she asked.
“The children’s happiness are indeed important but I fail to see why your well-being is less important. On the other hand, they can always come another day to play in the pizzaplex.” The heavy door to Freddy’s room opened upon detecting Freddy’s close proximity. He slid inside with a wink towards (y/n) and a small wave towards the others and the annoyed gator. The door closed along with the curtains of the large floor to ceiling window, hiding the room from all those who roamed the night inside the plex.
(y/n) hummed, cheeks red at what freddy said. Suddenly, a large metal claw placed itself on her right shoulder, heavy and completely covering her entire shoulder. She whipped her head to face Monty who had an eye trained on the two at the back for a few seconds before peering down at her from behind his star shaped glasses, a toothy smile tugging at his lips.
Although it might be due to the dimness of the remaining lights, but (y/n) saw something hiding deep within his predatory eyes. Something he always had whenever she was near him, cleaning his room or doing some light maintenance that requires close contact, he would stare at her intently. It never fails to make her heart skip a beat and she couldn’t stop the hope that he at least felt some sort of infatuation towards her. Not love, that would be asking too much. They were hybrid animatronics, yes. Emotions are much more complicated to them especially Monty being a new recruit.
Not like they aren’t capable of love. Roxanne and Chica together is an example of how they could cross that boundary and show just how human they can truly be. (Y/n) unconsciously smiled at the thought.
Meanwhile, the soft smile that crept up to her face reminded Montgomery of what just happened, Freddy’s subtle flirting towards their handler irked him for some reason. He had felt this before, when staff got too close to his belongings or whenever that golden bear gets more limelight than he does, and that wasn’t fair. No matter how popular he was when he arrived until now, he can never seem to overshadow freddy. Now he was doing it again, stealing (y/n)’s time and attention.
𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺 from him. How dare he.
Does he not already know that he is her favorite?
All those moments spending her remaining free time in his room instead of God knows where or when she would take extra long minutes while checking up on him before the show starts compared to how she would handle the others gave birth to a new feeling in his processors. It wasn’t like the feeling of joy that he feels when fans express their admiration towards him, a burst of pride and validation is what that was.
This one is like a hurricane that wrecked his mind with the sight of her soft smiles, her gentle touches, and her genuine eyes as she praised him for not wrecking his room six nights in a row. It muddled his train of thoughts every time she was near him, growing all flustered inside, arrogant and intimidating façade cracking little by little.
They never trained him for this, back before he was brought here. It felt like something was wrong with his system, maybe something was broken and he was glitching.
He had indeed thought of that multiple times, and the fear of management finding out and deciding that they didn’t want a troublesome alligator who breaks things on a daily basis like him around anymore, he would be sent back or worse, brought to the center. That was enough to harden his resolve and push back these unknown emotions to the back of his mind. Out of sight, out of mind. But how can it be that easy when he finds himself staring back at her gorgeous (e/c) eyes, the light reflecting on it made it seem like it was the galaxy itself.
(y/n) tilted her head as she waited for the alligator to speak, still craning her neck upwards to see his face. He sure was very tall, even taller than freddy but that just added more to his appeal. He kept staring at her unblinking, even the two behind them seemed to notice the tension, ceasing their noise at once. (Y/n) snapped her fingers and it instantly broke Monty from his reverie, closing and opening his maw, trying to find the right thing to say while three pair of eyes gaze at him weirdly. His annoyance rekindling and he huffed, tugging (y/n) along with him as they walked faster, leaving the two behind to give themselves more space.
Once Monty was satisfied with the distance between them, he turned his attention back to (y/n) who was fiddling with her fazwatch. Of course that was just to make it look like she was busy with something, until a claw pressed down on its button and the screen turned black.
“Take a break, will ya’?“ A grunt came from above her head. “Fazass was right. Ya’ working way too much. Nothin’s goin’ to break as soon as ya’ turn ya’ head, Cher.” (y/n) stayed silent.
Monty glanced at her frowning face, the swing of his tail halting. “I do-We don’t wanna lose our favorite (y/n) so soon. I haven’t found someone who gives darn good head scratches ever since I met ya’.”
(y/n) chuckled. “I’m your only (y/n), Monty.”
His heart skipped a beat at that. Mine?
He mentally shook his head, dismissing the thought. His tail on the other hand began to move side to side. He cursed to himself, shifting around so she wouldn’t notice it. “Yea’ well, there is that new handler, eh?”
“Yes? Don’t worry about them. I’ll make sure that they would be trained properly before I give them some of the heavier tasks.” (Y/n) assured him.
“Sure, sure. Can I make a request then?“ (y/n) hummed, “What is it?”
Monty didn’t want to sound like a playboy or anything but this could be a great opportunity for an experiment, to find the answer for his dilemma. “Mind getting us a female handler? Not discriminating or anythin’, I just find female staff more amusing to tease rather than men.” That was true. They were much more expressive and easy to scare off. But the point was if he would also act the same way with the new handler, or is it only with (y/n). Monty was curious but he also knew deep down that he only wanted to feel all of these with (y/n) and never with just some stranger.
(Y/n) stiffened, fighting away the dread that began to creep under her skin. Surely he wouldn’t, right? She thought they had a connection. Something just between them both. No. She’s overthinking again. “Um, sure…” was her only reply.
The alligator smirked mischievously. “Aww, don’t fret, Cher. ‘Tis just nice to see a new face once in a while. Speaking of, make sure they’re gorgeous too. Flirtin’ with the pretty once always makes my day. I love it when they turn as red as cherries.”
(Y/n) absolutely missed the way his eyes soften as he took his time to look at her. Soft and silky (h/l) (h/c) hair in their usual hairstyle, accentuating her perfect face. Clear and glossy yet tired eyes as they stare ahead and that little bit of blush on her cheeks that never seem to go away. Oh how he loved it when she always blush from his teasing and compliments, it warmed him up at the idea of being the one to make her feel shy. The way she was trembling under his tou- trembling?
He slid his glasses up to take a better look at (y/n). She was definitely trembling, no doubt. He began to grow worried thinking that she really did caught an illness. “Hey, ya’ alright there? Ya’ shakin’ like a damn leaf.” He softly whispered to her.
(Y/n) wasn’t listening, instead she was torn. God, her heart was breaking. Was that really what he meant? Did he not realize how she felt about him? If he did, then he would’ve never spoken a word about being interested in another person. She knew Monty, as much of a flirt he is, he was also very loyal and considerate. It was his personality. Could it be that he only saw her as their handler, a staff who takes care of them during work. So maybe that just proves that everything was all in her head. He never meant it all, probably had expected her to know that he was just playing around. That she wasn’t that special in his eyes after all. The tightness in her chest worsen as she felt it claw its way from her lungs and through her throat. Small thorns emerging, embedding itself on her flesh and drawing blood.
It was like a hand choking her, her face turned pale from the pain while she felt monty’s grabbing her gently by her shoulders. His eyes were now filled with worry and panic, calling out to her in a hurry. “I shoulda known this would happen, shit. We need to go to the first aid station, now.” He said with determination, moving to lift her up in his arms.
(Y/n) immediately pushed him away, covering her mouth with both hands. She let out a muffled reply, “No need! I’m going to the bathroom.” She turned to leave but Monty grasped her arm before she could run.
His face was in a scowl, “No, we’re goin’ to get ya’ a check up. Le’s go.”
(y/n)’s eyes widen and she hurriedly fought against his grip. “I said I don’t need to, Monty,” she coughed hard on her hand, tasting the metallic liquid already. “I’m fine! I just need the bathroom. I’ll be back soon, I promise. So, just let go! ” She yelled. There was now an edge to her voice, making Monty falter.
He loosen his hand and let her snatch her hand back. He stood rigid and watched as she practically ran and disappeared around a corner. The commotion didn’t go undetected as Roxanne and Chica approached. Roxanne clicked her tongue at him. “What ever did you do now?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm.
The alligator ignored her in favor of staring at the corner for a few moments before proceeding to walk to his room. The wolf grumbled angrily and rolled her eyes at the blatant disregard, slinging her arm around her little girlfriend instead.
“Movie at my place, sweetcheeks?” Chica nodded absentmindedly in return, still feeling worried for their dear handler.
“Cut! That was good!”
“Getting intense now, huh?” Chica piped up, not making an effort to remove roxanne’s arm around her.
“To be honest, Montgomery definitely sounded like a fuck boy.” Freddy shrugged from his seat beside the camera, now dressed in a new attire. They heard a slam before Monty came back along with (y/n) who was walking beside him, a bit of bounce in her steps. “I need me some internet time.” She giggled before grabbing her phone and finding a much more secluded area to sit in.
“I’m the misunderstood bad boy. The star of the show!” Monty made a pose for the audience. “You’re a dick head, that’s what you’re meant to play as!” a voice shouted.
“Who said that?!” the alligator whipped his head fast to catch the culprit. It was Bonnie who was clutching his stomach from laughing. “I bet I can do much better than you, scale tail.” He smirked from his seat behind one of the tall film lights.
“That is if you even have a show to play in, cotton tail.” Monty mocked.
It took him a second to recognize the stack of papers Bonnie held up, but Chica beat him to it before he could say anything. “Oh my! A new script? Did you get the role, Bonnie?”
“Sure did, maybe this will show that overgrown liza-“
“Give me that shit!” Monty snatched the documents from the rabbit, ignoring the scowl he directed at him. It was silent for a short period of time as he skimmed through the text and dialogs. He chortle in delight when he read his name. “I’m still the main character, baby!” he made a fist bump in the air.
Roxanne took it from him and flipped a few page, soon sighing in exasperation. She smacked the back of monty’s head using the papers, making everyone laugh. “You won’t even be there until after half of the show, lizard brain.”
The alligator hissed in pain, rubbing the back of his sore head. “Oh right..”
“Well since you all know about Bonnie’s show now, I guess we could take a break and film his first chapter today. Bring in Montgomery’s nephew!!”
“My what?”