Archive of Our Own

Your job was simple: keep the cartoons happy. Or, in Joey's words, "appease the gods" -- whatever that meant. However you worded your occupation, it essentially came down to watching Bendy, Boris, and Alice to make sure none of them initiated World War III (specifically Bendy, who, if you hadn't trained a careful eye on him from day one, would have long ago asphyxiated his pseudo-siblings). You were to keep them company, resolve their conflicts, and give them time off for their good behavior. You were the conflation of a babysitter and paid friend.

And you were quite good at it.

After all, it was your dedication to your job, and nothing else, that coaxed you to put on your thickest winter coat and trudge through over a foot of snow to Joey Drew Studios. You had held your position for eight years since you were sixteen. It was your first and only job, mainly because you didn't go to college -- not because you loved your occupation just that much.

Don't get you wrong, you did enjoy it, but you would have abandoned your post in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself, offering hundreds by the hour. It never did, though, so you loyally settled for your less than generous but sufficient wages and unenviable working conditions.

Although it was repulsive when Bendy burst a pipe and flooded half the studio, forcing you to wade through two feet of strangely warm ink, you would rather deal with the studio's messes than the freezing snow crunching beneath your feet and stinging your face with every gust. The inclement weather should have given you a day off, and at first, it did -- a fifty car pile up due to the blizzard drastically decreasing sight made sure no one could get to the studio even if they were insane enough to set foot outside their house -- but then Joey Drew called.

Shameless Joey, dialing your number to tell you personally that he and the toons had been snowed in at the studio and that his three, bored-out-of-their-mind creations were vying for some company, so, "if you're willing to come in and spend time with them for the day, that would be great!"

Your dedication, a way to pass time (which, let's be real, you would have originally spent wallowing in your loneliness at home for all eternity), and the employee's ambrosia known as overtime... The call to service was irresistible. And heat. Can't forget the free heating awaiting you at the studio, though warmth didn't mean much to an ice cube at the edge of the road.

You nervously glanced at the deserted street. There was no wreckage in sight, meaning you had a long way to go before you arrived at the studio, but then again, you couldn't even see past your nose. Beyond your nose was wind, whipping entire snow drifts away. Your freezing, dripping nose.

Streaks of snot slicked your upper lip to your disgust, but you couldn't raise your arm to wipe them away. The polar conditions locked your limbs in place at your sides. At this point, the movement of your legs was stiffly mechanical, dragging your numbed body forward like a broken machine repeating the same motion over and over until it fell apart. Frostbite was imminent. And snot chopsticks, you thought humorlessly as your nose-drippings crystallized and froze upon your face.

"All this for f-f-f-f-f-fuck-k-k-k-ing..." you started under your breath, then choked when you inhaled the shockingly cold air and your tongue froze to the roof of your mouth.

Clamping your mouth shut, you internally finished, For some fucking overtime.

This wasn't worth an extra buck and some company. And damn the heat to hell. If that made any sense, considering hell was already sweltering... Was the ice addling your brains? Perhaps you should damn yourself to hell. It would be a tropical paradise compared to this frozen clusterfuck, where tiny crystals of agony known as snow stung your eyes and crunched under your feet with every high step you made. If you didn't raise your foot at least three feet before stepping forward, then you would literally be wading through a winter wasteland -- wonderland. Not wasteland. Wonderland. Isn't hypothermia a brilliant thing?

Maybe you were just stupid for not wanting to turn blue. Speaking of blue, you had plodded on for long enough. You lifted your weary head and blinked crystals out of your lashes to search for salvation. Any sheltered building would do, not only the studio. But, lucky you, Joey Drew Studios itself stood tantalizingly in your line of sight. Sudden determination warming your fingertips, you gritted your teeth, then shuffled hurriedly toward your savior.

Your bulky clothing and the snow weighed you down so that you were waddling instead of running, but there were no witnesses to your embarrassment. Not like you cared what people thought. But you would rather not have a stranger's first impression of you be a penguin quacking at the front door of a rundown studio.

You frantically rapped at the entrance in sync with your chattering teeth. "Come on, come on, come on," you chanted. "C-C-Came all th-this way, you'd think s-s-someone would have the c-courtesy to wait for me, I'm not ask-k-king for a red carpet or-or anything..." Temper flaring due to being ignored on top of your freezing journey, you banged your palms against the surface, then shouted, "If you d-don't open the damn door, Joey--!"

The door opened.

"Joey!" Your breath caught and disappeared from the air when you lost your footing and stumbled in through the threshold.

A hand shot out to steady you, then jerked away. "Ooh, wow, you're cold. You didn't have to come, you know that, right?"

"W-Well, I'm here anyway, aren't-t-t I?" you retorted sourly, straightening up and looking Joey Drew in the eye.

The animator looked as exhausted and disheveled as ever, but a lopsided smile lit up his gaunt features. "Right you are. I'm glad. Alice hasn't quit squealing ever since I called you!"

As if on cue, the very angel Joey spoke of came barreling down the hall straight into your gut. You wheezed when the projectile, which was ninety percent fluffy hair, collided, then wrapped its small arms around your waist while squeaking like a mouse.

"(Y/N)!" gushed Alice Angel in her dreamy voice. "(Y/N), (Y/N), (Y/N)! You're here!"

"'C-Course I am, dummy," you said between shivers in a teasing, amused tone, somewhat breathless from her bone-crushing embrace. "Now, off. You're gonna break my ribs."

Still giggling, Alice released you. Aside from Susie, you were her absolute favorite employee and best friend, and the angel was deeply obedient to those she held in high regards. You patted the top of her head in thanks, avoiding her evanescent halo. Her thick, black hair was as fluffy as it looked. You could have run your hands through it for days, but you backed away, rubbing your palms together for warmth instead.

Alice watched you with an enormous beam and bounced on the balls of her feet like the little bundle of energy she was. Her tiny stature and childish personality were quite misleading, however.

She was only two years younger than you, as were Joey's other creations.

Did you really think these were children you had befriended? Despite their age, the three acted like miniature psychopaths on account of never being socialized properly, which was why they needed a guardian in the first place.

Next, Boris appeared. He had actually been present the entire time, but it was only after Alice ceased showering you in enthusiastic greetings did you notice him. Catching your eye, the cartoon wolf let his tongue loll and tail wag furiously, though he didn't attack you as did Alice.

Finally, after a few heartbeats of search and find, you saw Bendy. Unlike Alice, who would look like a twelve-year-old until the day she passed, he had obviously aged from the three-foot child in the cartoons to the six-foot tall, lanky, stoic presence skulking in the shadows behind Joey Drew. He gave not a single acknowledgment of your arrival besides staring at you when you discovered him in the darkness. You held his gaze for a moment longer than you should have, then looked away, stifling a shudder that had nothing to do with the cold. He was doubtlessly the most mysterious of the bunch.

In hindsight, Bendy probably acted like that on purpose.

Asshole.

"Well, like I said, I'm glad you're here," Joey went on after your brief pause while recognizing each of the cartoons. "And you're freezing, so feel free to turn the heat up if you want. Not too much, though... Don't want that to show up on my bills... Anyway, I'll be in my office if you need me." Glancing away from you to address his creations, the animator warned, "So behave, alright?"

Alice squealed her agreement. Boris nodded solemnly. Bendy stuck out his forked tongue and made a face at Drew.

Swallowing a sigh, he swiftly walked away, throwing one last remark over his shoulder at you. "Keep an eye on them, will you?"

Joey didn't linger long enough for you to reply. It wasn't like he needed confirmation, but... You puffed out of your still frozen nose. You were nothing but a glorified babysitter. At least you lived up to the task, you told yourself and gave the three in front of you your full, undivided attention (they couldn't say nearly as much; Boris was watching his tail wag and stiffened as he debated on whether or not to snap at it; Alice was tugging on and toying with her hair, the luxurious hair you were most certainly not jealous of; and Bendy found a cobweb in the corner extremely fascinating and upon which worth fixating a death-stare).

You shimmied off your coat before engaging with them. The ice crystals on it had already begun to melt and soak the fabric, and you didn't want to smell like a wet, frosty mop, so you hung it over a nearby desk to let it dry. Fingertips and face red and tingling, you pinched your cheeks to bring the blood flow back and rubbed your aching nose.

You spoke up only when feeling slowly returned to your extremities. "So. What do you three wanna do?"

"We can go to my dressing room!" said Alice with immediate enthusiasm like she had everything planned out (which, being honest, she probably did). "You can try on all my clothes and braid my hair because whenever I do it Bendy yanks on it and makes it all tangle-y but if you're here then he won't so--"

"Alright, alright, breathe, Alice, we'll go," you hastily interrupted her tirade, though her elation amused you.

"Yes!" the angel replied and tugged on your shirt, her voice hissing on the 's' between a grin. "Now!"

She then spun on one heel, grabbed Boris by the wrist, and dragged him down the hall while shrieking. Instead of following, you watched for a few moments, thinking about what a pistol Alice was. An air-headed, dreamy pistol. You took a step forward to pursue her, then paused. You turned to look behind you.

Bendy, expression unreadable, was still watching you from the darkness. Ice trickled down your already cold back and you straightened, fully facing the ink demon.

"Are you coming?" you asked, but your stern tone left no room for argument.

Unspeaking, though his face may have betrayed the slightest hint of annoyance, Bendy slunk toward the hall Alice rocketed down. The devil, when passing, inclined his head toward you and hissed, "Fine," the single word wreathing you in the heavy scent of ink and mint.

You reeled away as he slipped past you and into the darkness again. His tail-tip twitched in irritation. Following, you swallowed a sigh; Bendy was in one of his angsty, tense moods today. At least it was better than when he acted like a prick and burst ink pipes over people's heads. Though when you arrived at Alice's section of the studio, you wondered if being drenched in ink was as bad as an angel forcing you to stuff yourself in her dresses, all of which were five sizes too small. She seemed to be the only person enjoying her time. Bendy hated everything at the moment, Boris kept on sneezing because of the powdery makeup Alice had dusted over his face, and you felt like a sausage in all the outfits Alice had picked out for you. Only when the angel was more concerned with putting mascara on an unwilling Boris did you manage to shimmy out of a horribly tight dress and escape to the corner Bendy was trying to fade away in.

"You havin' fun yet?" the ink demon whispered in your ear, making you jump as you were folding in on yourself so that no angel would acknowledge your sudden absence.

"Absolutely not," you snapped back. The last thing you wanted now was to deal with this cartoon's smartass mouth.

Well, second to last thing. Alice could still have plenty of clothes she wanted you to model over your own.

A cold yet soft laugh answered your hostility. "I am," he informed you. "This is entertainment gold."

"If you're not gonna be helpful, then stop talking to me," you said dryly, thinking up ways you could end Alice Angel's reign of terror.

"Ugh, fine," conceded Bendy with an eye roll and stood, towering above your hunched self.

Mood seemingly improved, he glanced down to bare his long, gleaming fangs at you in a mocking grin, then slithered over to his two fellow cartoons. You watched from afar, wary of involving yourself with the ink demon. He had a knack for making compromising situations go from bad to worse.

"C'mon, Alice," he drawled in his usual arrogant, lazy tone, tail swishing back and forth. "Much as I enjoy it, stop torturin' the poor dog."

Although he never even remotely liked Bendy, Boris widened his eyes pleadingly at the angel before him (he was unable to speak with the ribbon tied around his muzzle). Alice gave him a thoughtful, pouty look before craning her head up at Bendy.

"But he looks so pretty," she said in a whimsical tone.

Bendy had to stifle his snort. "Very pretty. Y'know, I've always thought Joey made a design mistake by not makin' him a girl in the first place."

Whereas Boris flushed angrily and growled out muffled protests, Alice widened her eyes and whispered, "Really?"

"Really. In fact, we should propose this idea to 'im right now. D'you wanna go to Joey's office?"

"Hey, no, none of us are going to his office, he's doing work," you interjected from your corner (which was lonely without a cheeky demon filling the space with you).

Your words were wasted on deaf ears, however. Alice had already sunk her teeth into the idea and leaped to her feet, dwarfed next to the skinny Bendy's height. Boris struggled against his restraints, but her grip on his muzzle remained ironclad. With another arrogant, toothy smile at you, Bendy darted out the door to Joey's office, Alice and Boris in tow, leaving your seething self behind. What was the point of telling someone not to do something if they would never listen, just to piss you off?

Nonetheless, it was your job to watch them, so you set off after the duo and their captive, deciding not to say a word to Bendy when you found them. He got a sick satisfaction from being scolded and you would not give him the pleasure. Besides, Joey screamed at him enough, since you found the three scampering away from his office where the last of his shouts rang out.

You flinched at the sound and wondered if your lack of control over the cartoons would hurt your paycheck.

Realizing your hard-earned money was on the line, you regrouped them with great difficulty since Bendy was howling in laughter from his confrontation and on the verge of keeling over, but things eventually relaxed. After you made Alice apologize to Boris (her apology had been a resentful grumble that could have meant anything, but it was passable) and clean the makeup off his face, you brightened up the abused wolf's day by doing something more to his speed, which was also an activity better fit for such weather.

You four sat in the bowels of the studio, where winter's cruel talons couldn't reach you, and read. At least, you read to Boris and Alice. Boris rested his head snugly in your lap as you sat crisscrossed, holding a book. His ears were lowered so that you could scratch behind them and make his fluffy tail thump against the floor. Whenever you pulled your hand away, he whined and nuzzled you until you returned to stroking him. Alice sat in front of you like a student before their teacher, deeply entranced by whatever story you were telling, whereas Bendy was curled up in the corner, disenchanted and hissing every few seconds.

Eventually, the noise became too much to bear. You brushed Boris off you after he nudged his nose into your side for the billionth time, snapped your book closed, startling Alice, and sighed exasperatedly at the ink demon, "What?"

"This is boring."

"Really? How so, when you're the only one who seems to have a problem?"

"First of all, if I want to, then I can read to myself. Second of all, this is a book for three-year-olds ya found in someone's office. I am not on the reading level of a toddler, unlike some people -- or angels -- I know," he said with a pointed look at the girl who had been so enthralled with your storytelling.

Alice stuck her tongue out at Bendy, giving him exactly what he wanted: a reaction. Hooting to himself, he looked back at you, eyebrow raised. "(Y/N), would'ja consider this even mildly entertaining?"

"You might be literate, but you still have the attention span of a toddler," you shot back, then sighed when the devil laughed even harder. "Well, then, what do you think we should do?"

That shut him up. Shimmering cartoon eyes rounding innocently, Bendy leaned forward and rested his chin on his palm. His tail still flicked with the remnants of mirth. "They say the weather this time of year is gorgeous."

Despite his obvious sarcasm, there was a ring of honest question in it. "Is that your way of asking me to go outside?"

Bendy shrugged his skinny shoulders.

Knowing you wouldn't get a straightforward answer, you assumed the ink demon's meaning and referred to his siblings. "What do you two think, then? Wanna go out into the snow?"

"Snow's sparkly!" squeaked Alice in reply, which you took to be a yes.

While the angel rambled on about how she was jealous of a nonliving thing for being so darn shiny, Boris straightened his back out, head no longer in your lap, then gave you a fond smile and said in his usual slow, level tone, "I wouldn't mind some fresh air in my fur."

The instant he grinned at you, Bendy's spade-tipped tail snapped into a stiff line and he snarled, "Oh, shut the hell up, Boris, no one cares about your damn fur."

Surprised, you whipped around to see Bendy's lip curled back to reveal his sabertooth-like incisors. He met your gaze and the sneer melted into a lazy, shit-eating grin. At your side, Boris watched the scene, bewildered; he knew Bendy didn't much care for him, either, but he didn't know what had caused such a sudden snap followed by an equally sudden mood swing.

"I dunno if I should reward that," you started carefully, staring Bendy down, an eyebrow raised, "but I guess we can go outside for a bit. Not long, though. I don't want Joey to notice, and plus, it's freezing outside. So, let's go to the welcoming hall. I need to get my coat, anyway."

With nothing but an indulgent yet mocking coo, Bendy stood, then loped away, tail swinging. The three of you he left behind gawked after his retreat until Alice Angel spoke up.

"Well, that wasn't very nice."

"Well, that was Bendy," you retorted, though not with any malice; you had long since grown accustomed to the ink demon's antics. "But I also don't want you repeating any of that," you added hastily when you remembered the week that Bendy had taught the angel a rainbow of colorful words to use.

"Of course not," giggled Alice, back to her dreamy self. "My lips are sealed."

Petting Boris between his ears one last time before rising in Bendy's wake, you replied firmly, "Good," then offered a hand to the two cartoons to help them up. They gratefully accepted your assistance followed you single file through the halls.

Bendy's tail flicked back and forth in your mind's eye until you entered the foyer and saw the real thing, twitching irritably at your delayed arrival. It stiffened as he watched you slip your coat on, grimacing at the slightly damp and chilly fabric, then curled in amusement when you waddled up to him.

"Get. Out. Of my fucking way," you growled at him through chattering teeth, already freezing from the anticipation of winter.

Bendy, who had been leaning lazily against the door, stuck his forked tongue out at you and gave a hissing laugh before slinking into the background.

Rearing your head back, away from the icy smell the devil had exhaled in your face, you placed your fingertips on the doorknob, then said, "Now, remember, we can't be out for long. It's really cold, so--"

"We don't get cold," said Bendy from directly behind you. "And besides, Boris has fur."

You nearly jumped three-feet into the air due to how close he was but refused to give him the satisfaction. "Okay, but I do, so deal with it. All three of you better come in when I say so."

Both Boris and Alice chimed in obediently, whereas Bendy laughed condescendingly at the mere notion of you being able to control his actions. You hoped you wouldn't have to drag him inside later. He could throw the nastiest hissy fits. It was sad for a twenty-two-year-old demon, but like you had asserted to Alice, it was Bendy.

And Bendy was sick of your hesitation. Snarling impatiently, he shoved you away from the door, causing you to stumble and cry out "Hey!", then threw the entrance open himself.

A shockingly cold gust blasted his face in greeting. Squinting his obsidian cartoon eyes against the gale, he stepped forward, unnatural jet-black skin sticking out in the snow like a blossom in a mud puddle. Alice scampered after him; Boris helped you regain your footing before cautiously pursuing. The three stood solemnly on the studio's doorsteps for a few seconds.

Bendy threw himself face-first into a snowdrift and, snorting, kicked his legs to propel himself forward. The crystalline white powder consumed him, and his long horns were the first to disappear. Alice soon followed suit and whooped when she hopped down, though not as... graceful as Bendy's flop. Last but not least, Boris sniffed suspiciously at the ice slicking the front steps for a good five minutes, then hesitantly eased himself down them on all fours like the wolf he was. When he finally made it to the snowbanks, Bendy burst out of the nearby pile that had swallowed him whole, terrifying the poor canine and sending him dancing away, yelping with his bushy tail tucked between his legs.

The ink demon spat triumphantly at his retreat and continued snorting while flinging frost everywhere. You were satisfied to watch his reign of terror instead of engaging in such disputes. Besides, Bendy was perfectly content to bury himself in the snow then practically swim through it with only his horns and half of his face poking out (along with his tail for a rudder, though the spade-like tip did nothing more than flick clumps of crystal around).

Alice was trying to sniff the snow, laughing uncontrollably whenever she sneezed out the powder, so she was being, well, Alice.

The unrestricted warfare didn't last long, however. Boris soon returned to avenge himself. He bore snowballs that exploded into ice on impact, as Bendy soon realized when one struck him square in the face. The ink demon exploded from his frozen bed to retaliate, leading to a full-blown battle. Even Alice joined in when Boris accidentally nailed her in the back of the head with a loud bap that made you wince. She froze for so long you were afraid she was about to burst into tears, but before you could leap to her side and comfort her, she whipped around on the wolf, screeching. Her small, needle-like fangs glittered as cruelly as the snow, and you were glad the two of you were on such good terms. It wouldn't feel good to have those incisors embedded in your upper arm, as Boris had discovered with an agonized yip.

Bendy had been delighted to have such a tiny menace for an ally, but his triumph was short-lived. The tables soon turned on him. After Alice gave the wolf a thorough beating, he found the breath to reason with her. If Bendy had never scared Boris in the first place, starting the conflict, then Boris would have never needed to use snowballs to retaliate; thus, he would have also never accidentally hit Alice when aiming for Bendy.

Cogs turning in her head, the angel turned to face Bendy across the frozen wasteland, then took aim and hurled a snowball at him.

She missed dreadfully, but Bendy screaming, "Honestly, Alice, I'd be more worried if you were aiming for (Y/N)!" rubbed salt in the wound. She redirected her fury to the ink demon, who, against a raging Alice and gravely determined Boris, didn't stand a chance.

Bendy disappeared unseen into the snow when faced with the sudden icy onslaught, never to be found again.

At least, until he crawled over to you and pressed his freezing hand against your side underneath your coat. The shock sent you reeling. A gasp escaped you at the sudden touch, then, when your frazzled mind registered the cold, you had to clap your palms to your mouth and bite the inside of your cheek to avoid sobbing. Metallic blood bursting over your tongue, you whirled around to face your assaulter. What Bendy thought was a winning smile greeted your anger and embarrassment. He quickly withdrew his hand (despite having touched you for far too long by then), then sat back on his haunches as he awaited you to find your tongue.

Chills ran up your spine long after the ink demon pulled away. His expectant and smug stare didn't help.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what the heck, Bendy?!" you chattered in a furious whisper.

"What, I had to get your attention somehow, right?"

"Why couldn't you have just, I dunno, said my name or something?!"

There was no reply.

Sighing since you knew he would never offer a satisfactory answer, you continued, "What is so important, then?!"

"I wanna show you something," he replied in an unfazed, matter-of-fact tone, as cool as the snow his tail was curled in.

"What is it, then?" You were in no mood for his childish games right now.

"C'mon, I'll show you."

"When hell freezes over," you snorted and shuffled away from Bendy.

In turn, the ink demon grinned, squinting his eyes and craning his neck to stare at the studio before you. "I think it already has frozen over."

"Bendy, what do you want?"

"I told'ja, I wanna show ya something," he sneered, having the gall to sound annoyed. "You really gotta work on your listening skills."

The insult bounced off you, and you turned to scrutinize the pest of a demon. "Is this your way of getting me to join the fight you started?"

"Is this your way of asking me to join the fight I definitely did not start?" he bowed his head and retorted sleekly.

"Don't you dare try spinning things around on me--"

"Oh, (Y/N), I'm not, I'm not. Can't you just pretend ya like for me once?"

You weren't sure if it was pity or resentment at this remark that made you allow the demon to drag you through the snow. Actually, your movements were more of a slither, your belly flat against the frozen ground as you crawled through the channels Bendy had carved out from the ice. The feuding ink creatures had resorted to trench warfare, he explained to you quietly, mouth pressed to your ear so that you could hear every click of his tongue and fangs.

You had jerked away from his lips at first, ready to bite his head off, but he had snarled at you so dangerously about such intricate threats he would carry out if you blew his cover that you swallowed your protests, instead focusing on your roiling stomach (which had absolutely nothing to do with your thigh brushing Bendy's as you shuffled forward).

Indeed, your fear of World War III was valid if this was the cartoons' strategy. And Bendy didn't seem inclined to end the battle anytime soon, what with how smug he was for evading the others. How he had done so for so long, you would soon discover but until you were able to learn his secrets, you had to suffer through his long-winded tangents and the snowy trek. A trek that mercifully ended before his tail became too comfortable with flicking over your backside. Far from the studio, the trench widened into a small clearing, like a river meeting the ocean. The snow towering over the space like a makeshift wall had been fortified with crude bricks of ice.

Opposite where you emerged, there was a hole, burrowing even deeper into the snow. You couldn't discern where it led, but Bendy pushed himself up onto his knees with his forearms, stretching like a cat to banish the stiffness in his joints as a result of the cold.

The ink demon spoke truly when he told you he had something to share. "C'mon," he said simply and slunk into the warren, darkness swallowing him whole.

His tail curled in beckoning to you before following.

You wondered if this was a clever way to murder you since the cold would kill your carcass' stench, and the wind would carry away any lingering scent. No one would find you until your crystalline deathbed melted to reveal the frostbitten corpse entombed in blue ice.

As if reading your thoughts, Bendy's long-suffering sigh drifted out of the rabbit hole. "(Y/N), 'm not actually gonna kill ya, come on in."

He didn't poke his head out to see your reaction. Hesitating for a moment longer, you swallowed your doubt and figured there would at least be a lawsuit on Joey's hands if Bendy dared harm you, then crawled into the yawning pit. It was all too easy to imagine that the tunnel was the throat of an ice monster gobbling you up. The channel dipped before ending in an icy cave occupied by Bendy. Uncomfortably aware of how little space there was since Bendy had created this with only himself in mind, you curled up as far away from the ink demon as possible. Which wasn’t very far. He purred at your displeasure, the sound vibrating through the cave and your chest, and ignored your need for personal space by slinking over and pressing his side to yours. Cold, dim light filtering through the snow above illuminated the gleam in Bendy’s black eyes.

“I told’ja you weren’t gonna die,” he scoffed quietly in your ear, head hunched to keep his horns from damaging the small grotto.

You wanted to sock one of those long, pointed horns so you wouldn’t have to deal with his breath on your face, icier than the snow surrounding you. Deeming his gibe unworthy of a response, you deadpanned, lips nearly brushing against his chest due to the close-quarters, “Why show me this.”

“‘Cause humans are woefully delicate creatures, and temperature is one of your limitations,” he explained, then added, “Amongst other things.”

“Like claustrophobia,” you snarled in a sudden vicious outburst. “There’s no room in here!”

Another snort. “Like ungratefulness, and being loud. So be quiet, for Christ’s sake, or the other two’ll hear us.”

“You really did do this only to get me to join your stupid game!”

“No, I didn’t, what’d I tell ya? Again, listening skills, (Y/N).” Bendy mockingly tapped his temple while giving you a meaningful look that had your blood roaring. It was hot enough what with the close-quarters, but his arrogance would bring you to the boiling point.

"I'm leaving," you snapped with such finality it made him flinch, wiping the smirk off his pale, narrow face. "I'm not supposed to be messing around with you, I have a job. It's not funny to trick someone into playing a dumb game just for your sick little amusement."

A huff came from the ink demon when you shoved him and crawled to the exit. You would have darted out then bolted back to the studio steps if it weren't for the rest of Bendy's lanky body blocking your escape. His tail-tip swatted your nose, and you hissed, the frigid air magnifying the sting.

Head tilted back snootily and resting on his forearms, Bendy said, "I wouldn't go out there if I were you. It's freezing for a fragile human, and plus, I wouldn't be surprised if Boris 'n Alice heard us and are now waiting to ambush." You paused and contemplated his words. He may have brought you here on account of noticing your chill, and yes, it was much cozier in this cavern despite the lack of space, and while he also may have inadvertently dragged you into his snowball fight...

Foreseeing where your train of thought was leading, Bendy cooed again, then pushed himself up to shuffle closer. His optics shimmered like jet-black snow dazzling in the sun.

"No expectations," he said in an amused purr and curled around you. "Just body heat."

You didn't want to validate his statement with a response. Since neither Boris nor Alice was nearby, you had to suffer through Bendy's quips for his personal enjoyment and already enormous ego. He interpreted your silence as an agreement and unashamedly pressed your sides flush together, stifling like the icy walls surrounding you.

The devil's droning eventually faded into the background. What little light there was in the warren dimmed as snow fell and piled overhead. Ice creaked under its weight. You would have been anxious, fearing that the structure may collapse, if it weren't for the sleepy warmth that had washed over you in the darkness. Bendy seemed to function like a cold-blooded animal: whatever heat you generated, he absorbed and reflected.

"I guess I should thank you," you stated blearily, interrupting Bendy's monologue, which had descended into nothing more than his odd language of soft coos and growls.

His voice was a sarcastic chirr when he replied, "Oh, whatever for, (Y/N)? "

You half-heartedly batted him away from your face. "You know what I mean."

"As in not lettin' ya freeze to death in the cold?"

"Yeah, something like that," you said drily in between a yawn.

Instead of responding immediately, he watched your tongue curl before snapping shut, ending your weary gape. After a few quiet moments passed, he inquired, "You do feel better, though, right? "

His tone was hushed as if silence could mask the trembling note of concern. Too tired to question his interest in your well-being, you scorned lazily, "Isn't any moment with you better?"

Stillness greeted your snipe. Then laughter. Real, open, delighted laughter, unlike the self-amused snickers Bendy usually let out, unlike his taunting heckles, laughter that lit up his pale features and made his cartoony eyes squint as an enormous beam adorned his face. It was your turn to fall into a shocked stupor at his reaction. You didn't even protest when his gloves cupped your cheeks to turn your head toward Bendy and give him a full view of your wide-eyed expression.  The sight made his chest heave with mirth.

He continued laughing, doing nothing about the way he held your face until the frozen expanse over his head cracked and split down the middle. The cartoon stiffened at the groan of impending collapse. Then, his laughter became an enraged shriek when Alice fell through the ceiling with a squeaky huff, snow and light cascading into the den she demolished.

"Heya, Bendy," she said breathlessly with a wide grin to rival her now seething brother's, then, noticing your presence in Bendy's arms, which had curled protectively around your waist when his hideout collapsed, she added far more cheerfully, "Hi, (Y/N)! You're playing with us, now? Too bad you're with Bendy. You could've been on my side, with Boris, but that's okay. This can be fun, too."

"How did'ja get in here?!" howled Bendy, not giving a chance to reply to her greeting.

Alice pointed up to the fracture like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Before Bendy could snarl at her stupidity, Boris popped his head down the hole, explaining, "We've been tracking you and heard something. What were you doing to be so loud?" He ended his statement by throwing a snowball in Bendy's face.

And, whether you liked it or not, you were forced to participate in the ensuing battle, on Bendy's side, of course. The two of you fought back ferociously, scooping snow into your hands until your fingers went numb, but your adversaries had the upper hand. Their attack has caught you by surprise, and you were quite literally backed into a corner. Or hole.

When it became clear you were winning nothing but a coat full of ice, you called it quits, and ordered the three screeching cartoons into the studio. Bendy and Boris weren't even flinging snow anymore, rather, they were tussling angrily in a nearby snowdrift, Alice goading them on from the sidelines. Boris whined pleadingly at you, Bendy's palm on his throat, choking him. Bendy, on the other hand, wasn't very happy about having to release his prey, but he took a single look at you, red-faced, violently shivering, and reluctantly detached himself from Boris, who whimpered in relief when Bendy strode to your side.

He scrambled to all fours, then jumped to his hind legs and pranced up to the workshop. Alice skidded after him, snow flying under her feet. Covering your once again dripping nose from both the cold and Bendy's scrutiny, you shuffled after them, painfully aware of the demon strolling in your wake. The awkward sensation melted into relief when you slipped into the studio's welcoming warmth. The sharp, tangy scent of dust and ink coated your tongue, but you never before smelled, tasted anything so soothing. Boris trembled in the corner, Alice rubbing his fur the wrong way to dry him. The duo looked up when you entered, Bendy in tow, and it was Alice who greeted you with a joyful bounce.

"I said that would be fun, (Y/N), wasn't it so fun?" she squeaked in your numb face, squirming like an over-excited puppy at your feet. "Thank you so much for letting me see the snow, thank you thank you thank you!" Her small arms wrapped around you in a bone-crushing hug. You tried raising a shaky hand to pet her hair in acknowledgment, but she pulled away, beaming and tugging on your dripping coat. "I'd love to stay here with you, but Boris is complaining about his fur, and plus, he smells like a wet dog." The angel wrinkled her small, pointed nose. "So I need to go back to my dressing room to brush him. Maybe he'll let me put more makeup on him!"

"Oh, definitely, you really should," came Bendy's icy sneer from behind you, and although you couldn't see him, you heard the smirk in his words.

"I will," breathed Alice dreamily like she was already imagining how lovely Boris would be. "I'll go now, but when I'm done, we'll find you again! Oh, and I'll turn up the thermostat on the way for you, too, (Y/N), humans are really very fragile in the cold, don't you think?

Without you whispering a single word in response, Alice deemed the one-sided exchange as over and hurried back to her canine friend, urging him down the hallway. Boris paused and looked to you with a good-natured gleam in his eye, ears pricked, fur spiked, but before he could speak, Bendy sent him hustling down the hallway with one reverberating growl from the back of his throat.

You turned to the ink demon, jaw hanging to demand why he terrorized the wolf away, but his face was contemplative and he cut you off by taking your hand up to study the frostbitten flesh.

"What," you snapped and snatched your hand away, " are you doing?"

Bendy dragged his gaze to your face and blinked.

You continued staring him down, searching his carefully blank expression. Your chattering teeth punctured the quiet.

"C'mon," he finally said and tossed his head toward a hall, once again beckoning you to whatever destination he had in mind.

"Again, Bendy? Where?" you implored exasperatedly.

He didn't see it fit to answer your questions. Instead, he spun away on one heel, walking purposefully on those gangly legs of his. Only when he disappeared into the darkness did you realize he was deathly serious about you following. You gaped at the shadows that had swallowed him whole, then, not wanting to be left behind, stripped free of your jacket and flung it somewhere over your shoulder before jogging after the cartoon devil. You soon came up behind Bendy, but he didn't note your presence with so much as a glance as he continued on.

The stroll wasn't long. Bendy halted in front of a door, which you recognized as the entrance to the employee breakroom, then threw it open to descend into the space. When you reached the foot of the stairs, Bendy finally faced you. You raised your eyebrows in a wordless question.

"Joey installed a coffeemaker not too long ago," he clarified softly. "And a kettle, for hot water. I dunno why he did in the first place when he hates it when anyone uses it and complains about the money coming outta his pocket, and he rarely gives breaks, anyway, so you probably didn't know about it. But now you do."

Oh.

He met your stare, gauging your reaction, his features slightly twisted in an expression you didn't think you ever saw him make before now. You took a few heartbeats to interpret it, then realized: it was deep concern. Such an out-of-character, gentle emotion that made you want to ask, "Who are you and what did you do with the real Bendy?"

In fact, you must have voiced this question, because a pale gray then darkened Bendy's sharp cheekbones as he shrugged and flicked his tail at a cheap fold-out table packed with various hot drink mixes. You hesitantly approached the display and paused. What was this? Did Bendy poison the water supply?

Sensing your reservations, Bendy snorted, slunk to your side, and began preparing a drink for himself. You could have sworn he was a mind-reader.

"I am not tryna kill you," he hissed in your ear, thin arm brushing yours as he worked. "Fuck's sake, (Y/N), don't give yourself so much credit when it comes to my hatred."

His anger over your assumptions was far from reassuring, but he simmered down when you didn't reply and picked out your hot drink of choice. Besides, the heat pouring from the kettle was absolutely divine. It was nothing like frost, burning your face, or Bendy's chilling breath causing your chest to collapse in on itself.

For now, a different emotion constricted your throat and squeezed your stomach. You couldn't put your finger on it and ignored the sensation as you finished making your drink and took a seat at a nearby table. Bendy followed suit and claimed the spot next to you. You watched him stare blankly at the steam curling from his cup until his brow furrowed and he said, "I don't even drink."

His utterly confused and disgusted face threw you into a cackling fit. Bendy scowled at you to keep a hesitant smile from replacing his disgruntlement. When he realized his grimace only perpetuated your amusement, he snorted and unthreaded his narrow fingers from around the cup, nudging it toward you.

"I really don't!" he exclaimed over your howls. "I don't need to drink, I don't even have a stomach, dammit, stop laughing at me and take it!"

You waited a few moments to compose yourself after he spat at you, then took the mug gratefully, shoulders still shaking with the ghost of laughter.

"Thank you," you breathed, inhaling the steam from the two cups before you.

The steam curled into the air and kissed your face before dissolving, a warm embrace in comparison to ice sliding down your reddened cheeks after a snowball struck you. You brought the rim of the mug to your lips and relished the almost scalding heat burning your esophagus. The liquid pooled in your gut, which was already churning awkwardly at the way Bendy gawked at you. Human you may be, but your habits were fascinating. And staring at someone drinking may be rude, but you didn't think Bendy meant to lose his manners and decided to not call him out on this. Instead, you casually sipped your first drink, feeling like a zoo animal under such scrutiny. Only when you started on the cup Bendy gave you did you turn and watch the ink demon just as carefully.

"What?" he straightened and asked, eyes clearing.

"I think I could ask you the same thing," you answered mildly.

"Whaddya mean?"

"What I mean is that you can't seem to take your eyes off me."

Never was he so grateful for the steam hiding your face and thus, obstructing your vision, preventing you from seeing the dark gray rising to his hollow cheeks.

"S'not everyday I get to see a human do up close and," he paused for effect, savoring the amusement that washed away his previous embarrassment, leaned in, and puffed so that his breath would carry through the stream, "personal."

To his delight, you reeled away, retreating behind the rim of your cup. "I didn't come here to be your guinea pig, Bendy."

"Nah, you just came here 'cause I asked."

"Absolutely not. I trudged through a blizzard only for some overtime--" you started peevishly, then abruptly halted, blinking as his statement settled in the air between you.

He asked. Bendy himself requested your presence today. Not Alice, not Boris, definitely not Joey, but Bendy.

You trudged through a blizzard for him.

"You?" A single yet meaningful word.

"Me," the cartoon confirmed lazily to mask how much it meant to him. "Though Alice went nuts when I suggested it. Pretended like it was her idea all along." An ugly look flickered over his features at the memory, much like how sour he was when you first arrived that day.

He wasn't trying to be a dick. He truly had been pissed.

You didn't respond. You set down your last cup, now empty like the blank stare you fixated upon Bendy, the air devoid of steam, giving you a full view of the still slightly flushed devil. The asshole you had known since you were sixteen and he fourteen, who didn't have a growth spurt until he was seventeen, who, until now, under careful observation, you had always seen to be the same scrawny child from all those years ago.

Bendy shrank under your intense gaze, though it did nothing to hide how tall he had become, or how his once ungainly limbs filled out to a lithe, almost predatorial grace.

You stood from your seat. His eyes widened a bit.

"I just thought Alice would like having ya here, and Boris, too, and yeah, plus it was snowing, so I figured you could take us out when you came--" Bendy started breathlessly, though you didn't see why. He really didn't need to explain himself.

You also wondered if there was a reason beyond only Boris and Alice "liking" you.

"Well," you finally spoke in the middle of Bendy's tirade.

You stretched slowly like you had all the time in the world, rubbed your hands together to forget how numb they had been before the ink demon offered you his drink, then leaned down to put your face in Bendy's as he had done to you countless times before.

"Thank you for having me," you whispered, trying to replicate the arrogant lover's purr Bendy spoke in, and pressed your lips to his cheek, sweet and gentle yet unflinching.

Every inch of him stiffened. His expressive tail didn't so much as twitch. Under your lips, his white skin was cool, devoid of life's warmth. The sensation should have sent you shuddering. Instead, it sent a bolt of sinful delight to your fingertips, your toes curling. You pulled away, and the ink demon was still petrified.

You tried catching his eye, but Bendy remained focused on something far in the distance. "I'll see you next time."

Without another breath, you left the frozen demon and went to collect your payment from Joey Drew, hopefully avoiding Alice and her antics on your way out.

After you disappeared, Bendy brought his gloved fingers to the tingling site you had kissed.

When your footsteps faded down the hall, a wicked grin consumed his awestruck expression.

He stared at the two cups you discarded.

And he wondered what, exactly, you meant by next time.