Work Text:
Hurricane, Utah.
1981.
Fredbear's Family Diner.
Party music and the sound of children's giggles and laughter echoed in the walls, with the occasional 'YOU WON' chiming from the nearby arcade games. Despite there being a birthday party, the tiled floors were still greasy and gross as ever. The parents however, focusing more on their children's joy, didn't seem to raise any questions. There used to be a way bigger crowd in the early days of the diner before William Afton and Henry Emily opened a newer one: Freddy fazbear's pizzeria, but the number was still remarkable.
Signs of the somewhat contagious Faz-excitement could still be seen in Fredbear's diner as well: Some children wore Freddy masks, or just had a little plush of Freddy's gang they were rather eager to show. Like Susie for instance, beaming with a Chica mask and a Foxy plush she won from the claw machine, planning to give to Fritz later. Behind Susie, with a judgmental air, stood Cassidy.
He was her neighbor, and a victim to her endless enthusiasm attacks. When her parents or her sister wasn't giving her attention, She decided to torture the poor grumpy boy next door with no remorse.
The babysitting part wasn't so bad.
It was that people naturally deemed them to be siblings, much to the dismay and disgust of Cassidy, who wanted to have nothing to do with the gremlin beside him.
"...Are you done yet?!- You've doomed all my tokens!-"
Cassidy exclaimed in annoyance when Susie, ignoring him while giggling, rushed to another arcade machine: Pac-man maybe, which she was better at than Cassid- WAIT HEY WHO SAID THAT. Luckily enough, she didn't bring her dog today, so Cassidy was officially freed from pet-sitting and babysitting.
He grumbled to himself in annoyance, deciding to keep distance this time- and stand idly in a corner while busying himself listening to the endless sounds of beeping, yelling, whispers, sobbing, giggles, and the rather irritating singing on stage, accompanied by a lovely instrumental melody from Cassidy's favorite: Spring Bonnie. He usually hated listening to childish melodies, but it was better than dying of boredom.
Tragic.
In many ways more than one.
...
Wait, 'sobbing?' Cassidy grinned to himself.
That sound meant a lot of things: some idiot had probably lost a game, or was crying for more tokens- or maybe someone begging to stay five more minutes, or even some kid scared as shit by the animatronics. The possibilities were entertaining and countless. So Cassidy discreetly left Susie alone (probably a bad decision someday later in the future) and searched for the mystery sound, determined to see a kid crying, and making him cry even more because Cassidy was a shitty tyrant like that.
The sobbing sound and tone were surprisingly soft and low, nothing like the loud displays kids made for attention and demands, like it wanted to stay hidden, which not only made it hard to trail and pinpoint its location, but also irritate a certain boy.
Cassidy was curious now.
He followed the sound, but was confused to see nothing in sight, despite slightly breathy sighs still echoing in his ear.
.
.
.
Where could it be from?
.
.
.
Cassidy kicked a table leg in frustration, a yelp resounded.
.
.
.
Huh?
.
.
.
Cassidy hadn't yelped.
.
.
.
The Table.
The DAMN table.
Cassidy lifted the table cloth up to see an absolutely startled boy sobbing under the table. He -The kid- let out a surprised squeak and immediately hid his face in the Fredbear plush like it was a shield. The boy's hands were trembling and clutching the plush's waist like a lifeline.
The rest of the party was going on fine without him.
Cassidy awkwardly hovered above, not knowing what to say now that he found his next victim.
...
They stayed in silence like that for a long while, only broken by sobbing and hiccups or something being announced on the stage or the prize counter. And just as Cassidy opened his mouth to speak- the Crying Child tilted his head up slightly, his sweaty but soft brown hair, along with his teary face visible but still nuzzling the side of it into his plush. He was peering up at the intruder with a soft, almost curious yet terrified gaze.
Fuck.
Cassidy, for reasons still unknown, immediately shut his mouth. Suddenly the warmth that probably made the kid sweaty caught upto him, making his breath hitch as he stiffened up, and swallowed. Awkwardness, that's all this was.
SPEAK, DAMN IT. OPEN YOUR MOUTH. YOU'RE THE ONE WHO RAISED THE CLOTH. YOU USELESS-
The Crying Child beat him to it, voice shaky, trembling and trailing off while his wide eyes slowly, VERY slowly, relaxed but there was still an odd tension to his shoulders.
"...H-hello?"
Cassidy's breath stuttered a second time, but this time instead of his vocal chords closing in, they were going rampant and making incoherent sounds which made the Crybaby shift further away from him. Shit, Cass probably looked like a weirdo.
"-W I mean- ah, crap- uh.."
He composed himself. You're a tyrant Cassidy, remember that. This is NOT how you react.
Cassidy's reaction to a kid looking around his age under the table cloth crying should've been a face scrunched up in slight disgust, the kind that said 'Ew, a worm.' But, with a slight huff, he let curiosity get the best of him. Ignoring the polite hello, he demanded answers.
"What're you doing down there..? party's out here, you know?"
He said sharply, but it lacked his usual scorn.
The Crying Child flinched at the tone, curling tighter around his Fredbear plush. His wide green eyes shimmered with fresh tears, lip trembling.
"..."
"I'm talking to you-" Cassidy pressed on.
"I-I... I'm scared..." Just to get that reply.
He whispered it so quietly it almost got lost in the muffled party sounds above. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he glanced toward the other kids playing games and eating cake from underneath... then quickly looked back at Cassidy like he expected to be scolded.
"of what." Cass deadpanned.
The boy stared at his plush awkwardly. Then with a shaky hand, gestured outside. Cassidy shouldn't have understood what that meant so easily, but he somehow just knew the boy was pointing towards the stage.
Ah. So it was one of those dumbass kids who were terrified of Animatronics. Pathetic.
"There's nothing out here to be scared of, come on- I'll show you."
Mr. Crybaby only stared, and scooted further away, making Cassidy pout.
"Come on out, crybaby- it'll be fine"
"..."
More silence.
Cassidy huffed and dropped the table cloth, ignored the relieved sigh down there, and walked towards the other end of the table and lifted the cloth up again, this time meeting the kid's back.
The Crying Child turning and Cassidy poking him were simultaneous. Cassidy had aimed for the back, but his finger found Evan's cheek, and touched a tear there.
The tyrant immediately jerked his hand and wiped it on his shirt like the liquid was poison, and almost lost his footing for a bit. Evan gasped softly at the poke.
Sniffling, he loosened his grip on Fredbear just a tiny bit. With shaky hands and a damp face from crying, he slowly scooted further backward and peeked at Cassidy from behind Fredbear, who seemed to protect his face from Cassidy's pokes.
Awkward silence again.
Cassidy wondered why he couldn't bring himself to leave, and awkwardly looked around to find something to distract himself with, or make conversation, finding blank paper under the table beside the kid. He kneeled down, and due to it being upside down and in pretty much total darkness, read something like:
Day Happiest Your: WARD.
...oh, it was DRAW: Your Happiest day
There was nothing else but blankness and a few erased scribbles, along with damp marks probably due to tears. And- oh, wait there was a name in the corner:
EVA...what the fuck is that?
The last letter...was that a D or an N? Evad didn't sound right. Evan seemed way better. Besides, blame the absolutely shitty handwriting.
(Cassidy missed the possibility, that like he read DRAW AS WARD, he may have read Dave wrong.)
Instead, he pressed on the matter of saving a kid from being pathetic his whole life.
"Come on out- it's just dumb pizza and animatronics out there.."
'Evan' just shook his head.
Cassidy pressed further.
"It'll be fineeee...."
"..."
Meanwhile, 'Evan' just wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it. He's already embarrassed himself 8 times that day- And he was not ready to have another embarrassing awkward moment where kids -like this one- tried to talk to him and he just burst into tears because he had no idea how normal children spoke.
His father's words resonated his head:
"I know...small talk is tough for you, but you have to try- Bloody hell...Dave, look at me, wipe those off- ugh...just listen, breathe. Listen. Don't start conversations, sure. But if someone comes up to you, For God's sake try to get along. Unless it's someone dodgy."
Cassidy looked like a VERY dodgy person, as British little Dave put it, but...
...should he give it a try?
He'll just ruin it by crying again, he'll get overwhelmed, there's no stopping it. But still...
"Y-you... really think it's okay?"
He sounded wrecked, and he hated himself for it. Why did he have to be born? Just to spend his days crying up a flood?
Cassidy let something of a pout form on his face. A silent 'are you seriously doubting me?'. Now to him, it became a situation of ego
"Yeah, yeah. It'll be okay!- I'll protect you from whatever... you're being a scaredy cat of"
He declared as he stood up and held the table cloth further up for Evan, mostly to prove a point and further fuel his ego, unknown to the oblivious Evan.
Evan’s breath hitched as Cassidy held the cloth even more up like a knight raising a banner. The diner lights—warm and golden—flooded over them. Crawl back, a part of Evan's brain tempted, but...then again, what if he made a friend? Father would be...pleased?
Slowly… shakily… Evan reached out one tiny hand. Then, on all fours at first, he crawled out from under the table. Once fully out, he didn’t stand right away—instead crouched beside Fredbear (who sat neatly beside him), eyes darting around: kids laughing by pinball machine... parents chatting nearby...
A small whimper escaped him.
"See? Easy-peasy. Just lights and no ghosts or monsters. Now that didn't kill you, did it- a- oh.. you're uhm you're scared?"
Cassidy kneeled down beside him, sounding unimpressed, still having no idea he was talking to the owner's son- or just witnessed history.
"..."
"C'mon" -another poke- "I said I'll protect you, didn't I?" -poke- "get up, crybabyyy" -poke- "you don't want pizza?'
Each poke made Evan blink rapidly—his face squished slightly with each one, like a sleepy kitten being nudged. The scolding tone should’ve made him cry again… but something about Cassidy’s loud confidence was weirdly comforting? Like thunder that never actually hit.
Pizza.
That word hit differently. Like thunder that did hit. Like my shitty writing may make you hit the comments, like- pls do 🙏
Evan’s stomach suddenly felt empty and hollow—he hadn’t eaten since the party started. Tears still wet on his cheeks, he finally looked at Cassidy—not through fear now, but quiet hope—and whispered:
"R-really... I can have pizza?"
He didn't move yet, frozen between trust and the weight of all those staring eyes from other kids across the room.
"brave boys get pizza."
Cassidy said with a proud nod. Evan felt sad for a few seconds, knowing that meant he was NOT getting pizza, before the nod hit him and he realised Cassidy was calling HIM brave for coming out of the table.
"With extra cheese, pepperoni slices, and of course..filled crust,"
He whispered, as if sharing a terrible secret.
Evan’s eyes widened—huge, round, like saucers. Brave? Someone called him brave?
No one had ever said that before.
"F-filled... c-crust?"
He repeated it softly, like magic words. Then—finally—he took action.
With shaky legs and Fredbear tucked under one arm, he slowly stood up beside Cassidy. Still trembling slightly… but standing.
Cassidy also stood up, happy that he made his point. He didn't give the boy time to adjust, typical, and dragged him across the diner to the birthday party pizza counter by the back of his collar, earning a dumbfounded 'huh?'. The other neighborhood kids, who knew of Evan being the owner's son AND a weird crybaby loner who just couldn't socialize, stared at the scene of him out of the table and with someone, flabbergasted.
To them, it wasn't possible. They'd tried, got frustrated and decided teasing him was easier.
Every pair of eyes -okay, not every, but most- in the room snapped to them.
And not just that—he wasn’t crying anymore! He was… walking! With someone!
"W-wait—I-I can walk by myself!" Evan stammered nervously, cheeks burning red from all the stares—but he didn’t fight it. For once… he felt included.
"Yeah, right. You'll run away, I ain't dumb, you know."
Cassidy, still oblivious to the stares, stopped at the counter and pushed a terrified Evan in front of an employee.
"2 slices of pizza with..uh, what was it? Extra cheese, pepperoni, and a filled crust for him please! And uh sodas too!"
Cassidy was not the kind of kid to say please but he was in a good mood. He's finally hanging with someone other than Susie and her friends. This crybaby, in a way, was a win in his books.
The employee blinked rapidly, then cleared her throat and spoke:
"Uh… y-yeah! Sure! Right away!"
...
And so, they waited.
.
.
.
"See? nothing to be scared of, crybaby. You're still alive and standing." Cassidy beamed, and if he'd been in a cartoon, Evan could've seen the prideful imaginary sparkles floating around his head
The kids were still staring, some offended, some confused, bamboozled, awkward or just purely amused. Cassidy must have felt the stares now, cause he looked back at the groups with a confused look, and the others immediately pretended to stop paying attention
So that part was right. Cassidy was a tyrant.
"...They're not laughing..." Evan managed to whisper. A small miracle. He wondered if Michael could see this.
"why would they?" The blonde sounded confused, but then the employee came back their order, and just as he reached into his pockets:
"You..uhm, don't have to pay, little guy. Err...on the house?"
Evan knew this. It was the privileges of being the owner's kid: infinite tokens, free games and gifts, free pizza and orders, which Evan never had the courage to use like his older brother Michael and younger sister Elizabeth did.
"..Really?-" A suspicious Cassidy mumbled, and looked at Evan like 'are you seeing this shit?' Evan just gave him a 'please don't question it look' and Cassidy surprisingly understood and didn't question it any further, starting to drag Evan again.
Once again, they were being subtly stared at as Cassidy dragged Evan by the back of his collar to a nearby table. He sat on the chair, but Evan quickly his under the table, much to Cassidy's -who'd just went through this whole trouble just to get him out- annoyance. But he didn't force Evan, just held the table cloth up and gave him his slice and sodas, offering to hold Fredbear for the timebeing while Evan was eating.
"What's so fun down there, huh Evan? I just told you there was nothing scary"
as Evan -Dave- ducked under the table, Cassidy’s annoyance and the 'Evan' name hit him like a splash of cold water. He didn’t mean to hide! It just… felt safer down there. Quieter. No eyes on him while he ate something so cheesy, warm and delicious that it almost hurt to chew. He wanted to protest at the name, but he decided against it, still a bit put off. 'Evan?' From where had Cassidy deduced that?
He just decided to speak. Mouth full, muffled:
"...I'm not used to sitting out here..."
"Well, you gotta learn some day. I'm sure it's better than being on the greasy floor. Does that place even get cleaned?" Cassidy continued "Can't believe we got free pizza though. Why'd they do that?"
Evan ignored the second part of that question, too stuck up on the first, and slowly spoke "I... I don't mind it down here..." A lie. He hated whenever Mike or Dad would force him to come along...and the floor was dusty and sticky under the table—but it felt familiar. Safe.
He took another small bite, then peeked at Cassidy again—who was now poking Fredbear’s nose absently with one finger while staring into space like he’d just won the lottery by getting free pizza.
A weird boy.
Cassidy tore his focus and looked at Evan a bit oddly, like he was contemplating something, or was finally weighing the options of having this crybaby as a friend and Evan briefly wondered if Cassidy was about to show his true colors, before:
"Can I come down there?" He asked, not demanded for once, voice soft
Evan froze mid-chew.
Cassidy… wanted to come under? Not drag him out. Not poke him. Not call him names while yanking his shirt. He wanted… to come down there with him?
Then, like Cassidy realised what he just did:
"H-hey!!- what's that look for?!- I just wanna see why you wanna be there all the time!!- Weirdo, like I’d wanna be with you!"
Evan's eyes widened, cheeks puffing slightly from the bite in his mouth as he stared at Cassidy—who was now turning a little red, arms crossed, voice rising like he had something to prove.
"W-well...!" Evan squeaked through a full mouth—then swallowed hard "I-It's... okay if you wanna... I mean... it's kind of gross but you can!" And then—miraculously—he scooted back just a little, making space beside him on the dusty floor tiles.
Cassidy just let out a rather too forced 'hmph' before crouching down with his plate and fredbear on the dusty floor, trying to look uninterested. Luckily for his social rep, the stares had stopped and the usual atmosphere returned.
…
"Huh... it's dark down here. You're scared of dumb childish robots but not the dark?”
Evan was rather distracted by the lack of space under the table, making the two have to sit shoulder to shoulder, their legs entangled in an awkward mess neither of them was too confident to call out. "...The robots are scarier." He said after doing a double take.
“Pssh, lameeee…” Cassidy drawled as he took a bite of his pizza. “But I took you out, didn’t I? Now you know they’re not bad or scary, right?”
"..."
"...right?"
"..."
"Are you kidding me?"
Evan tensed.
"...c'mon, answer!-"
Cassidy's expression slightly soured when Evan didn’t reply, so he muttered with a subtle pout.
“…stupid crybaby”
He didn't mean anything by that, he's used that word on Evan many times already.
But to Evan? Flashbacks and the 'sad thoughts' suddenly started hitting him like a truck.
This was inevitable, he knew it. From the start of this, really.
The faint insult. Evan felt that pang of disappointment just under his sternum—the one he felt whenever people got tired of him. Of being 'nice'. His face dropped as he looked down at the half-eaten slice of pizza. He'd actually… for a moment… thought this kid was really, truly different.
That they could be friends, maybe best friends even.
But Evan was wrong. Like always.
He sniffled.
“What?” Cassidy asked, turning to look at Evan with an uninterested look. He paused when he saw that expression, and huffed “You’re back to sulking again..? What’s up with you?-“
Then, reluctantly, with a frown:
“Okay, okay- maybe it’s isn’t that lame-…Quit brooding, dummy-“
Evan wiped his now suddenly watery eyes with a sleeve. He was being stupid, but he couldn't help it—the second he heard the word "crybaby" he just…This was what always happened. People got sick of his shy, quiet, awkward self. He got too boring. Too weird. The moment someone was rude, he'd crumble. Just like that. Over something so small. He hated crying over small things. He hated himself.
But Cassidy's frown and reluctant attempt to backtrack... it made something flicker. Hope? A tiny spark of something.
"I'm not…" he managed to whisper, "brooding."
“You totally are. Come on, crybaby…” Cass had abandoned his slice of pizza, now looking at Evan with a confused look. He poked Evan again, just like he'd done earlier to nudge him out. "C'mon...Don't be a scaredy cat..."
That word again. "Crybaby". That insult, that stupid word, the word everyone called him because he was too soft. Too weak. Too quiet. Too weird.
"Stop calling me that..." Evan shifted away from Cassidy's touch, pulling his legs to his chest. The pizza lay forgotten beside him. He wasn't hungry anymore.
.
.
.
Cassidy should've felt satisfaction, irritation or anything other than this.
Guilt.
Oh, and even more confusion, that too.
.
.
.
For some reason, he couldn't stand Evan's tears- not because they were irritating, but because he hated being the reason they were there.
.
.
.
Cassidy realised he was holding the thing that Evan usually hid his tears in.
.
.
.
Cassidy's about to do something unbelievable and he hates himself for it.
.
.
.
He took a deep, heavy, almost pained sigh and pushed Mr.Fredbear plush in front of Evan like a truce. Then, with a not-so-subtle blush, averted eyes and a head turned to the side, Cassidy imitated fredbear's low voice grumpily, definitely embarrassed.
"Stop acting so depressed, idiot. You're making me worry."
Evan's sniffles had paused for a brief second. W h a t. Was Cassidy-
Cassidy's blush deepened, and he shut his eyes "And uncomfortable!!- cheer up, damn it!!!-"
He punctuated his last words by throwing Fredbear at Evan.
The overall effect was so jarring that it startled Evan out of his sulky mood. His head shot up, eyes wide, as he tried to make sense of the scene. Had the tyrant gone crazy? And just as Cassidy said all that, finishing it off with the blushing and the averted eyes—it finally caught up to Evan's shocked brain: Cassidy… was embarrassed!
He'd never been more confused... but also, he felt his chest getting a tiny bit lighter. It was kinda comforting...considerate..cute...
Evan's tears did slowly stop and he blinked. He'd cried, and Cassidy was still here (much to Cassidy's own surprise). Usually, this was the part where people left...not comfort him with a fredbear imitation. Maybe, just maybe...this could work.
Evan allowed himself a soft, tiny smile- the tears still lingering but the headache and pang softened into something else...something happy. He didn't notice the effect his smile had on the flustered boy who'd swiftly turned, back facing Evan while bumping his head in the table in the process. The pizza slices on paper plates were forgotten, and though they were getting cold, they could wait.
"..."
"You never told me your name..." Evan's voice was the most stable it had been in weeks.
"...hmph, it's Cassidy. Remember it, cryb- idiot. Your's Evan, right?"
Evan shook his head, Still smiling as he wiped his tears, not that Cassidy could see. "You got it messed up, silly."
"Eh?- what? What is it??"
Huh, so Dave's theory was right. Cassidy didn't know he was the owner's son. He briefly contemplated letting Cassidy know, but then decided against it. "...It's- forget it...You- you can keep calling me that..."
"Huh?"
"And I...can c-call you Cassie in return" (Not THE ruin Cassie y'all 🙏😭)
"...Fuck no."
"...Cassie..?"
"Absolutely not."
Evan noticed Cassidy's neck was red, probably from the embarrassment spreading, and that gave him a rush of boldness.
"..Cassie~ ♡"
"FUCK OFF!!-:
.
.
.
End.
Extra:
1.
"Free pizza hits different." Cassidy enthusiastically commented before digging in, getting a bit of sauce on his cheek. Evan -Dave- blinked as he leaned a bit closer, and wiped the smudge off Cassidy's cheek, just like he'd done a million times before thanks to having a messy little sister.
"..."
"Cassie?"
"..."
"CASSIE?? a-ARE YOU okay?-"
"..I hate you. I swear.
2.
"..."
"What do you think they're doing down there?" Simon asked, nudging Michael playfully while Michael glared at a piece of furniture like it personally offended him. He'd been one of the kids, along with pigtail girl, who saw Cassidy dragging Evan. And he was glaring at the table.
"Getting all buddy-buddy maybe. I'll bet you 10 their friendship won't last a week." Mark added, grinning widely while Jeremy, resisting the urge to fall to the floor in laughter, added: "Oh, please- He'll get tired of the brat's whining. Pfft-"
"Yeah. 'Oh please~ I-i-i-i-i'm s-s-s-c-c-scared. I'll p-p-p-p-piss my pants-"
The group dissolved into a fit of laughter as they took turns imitating and exaggerating Evan whining and stuttering, but Mike, for a moment, just for a moment, felt a small feeling of pride. His brother had finally made a friend. But it didn't last long. He'll be sure to get Cassidy next time.
3.
"Cass? Where'd you go?"
A victorious yet confused Susie, holding some more prizes, called out to the walls of the diner.
She got no reply. Ugh, guess she'll have to spend more time with pigtail girl.
"...Hmph."