#where the storm rests | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

blametheeditor · 22 days ago

Note

Boo! The snow is thawing, but it’s still here. How despicable would it be if a lil tiny Fritz had to walk home through thick snow after his shift?

Take as long as you need, it’s cold outside! Everyone’s bones are sluggish. Headcanons on each character’s reaction or a short check-in is chill. Honestly just wanna make sure you’re surviving <3

Also, watch out for snowballs! I heard there’s a new FazSnowball flying around…

AH!

That would be despicable! It'd be a shame, even...if such a scenario wasn't written

Thank you for the check in!! I am currently surviving, fighting with characters, the usual. I hope you've been doing good and surviving as well <3

It's always a pleasure seeing you mcfries! Especially when you give me something I can sink my teeth it was too good not to make an almost 10,000 fic out of it

Snowfall And Dread

Content Warnings: Cursing. Dehumanization. Treating others as lesser than. Addressing someone as 'thing' and 'pest'. Mentions of death. Mentions of getting lost in a snow storms. Mentions of hypothermia. Mentions of caring for someone who's unconscious.

Follow up fic, nothing but wholesome snowman building and innocent burying of tinies in snow

______________________________

“Fritz,” has said teenager pausing from clocking out for the day. Part of him knew he would be caught at the door, and part of him dreaded the possibility of being asked to stay longer. Even though his shift technically ended two hours ago.

But he would get in trouble if he tried to claim he was already off the clock. So instead of pressing the button, he turns away from the register to properly address his manager, tilting his head back to properly see the giant standing just outside the hallway for employees only. “Yes, Mr. Harrison?”

The towering business man doesn’t look away from whatever he’s typing on his phone. “Did you double check that the tills were correct?”

“Yes, sir!”

David Harrison raises an eyebrow, still not so much as glancing away from the screen. “And did you make a list of things I need to order?”

“I did!” Fritz points above him at the giant register a few feet away. “It’s on the counter!”

The business man finally looks away from his phone to spot the list in question. The giant then takes a few catastrophic footsteps to grab it, making the teenager take a few steps back out of respect. And maybe from a slight worry about the shoes capable of crushing him like a bug getting too close.

It’s almost funny how David doesn’t question how the restaurant’s only human employee manages to count money from a register where he could be mistaken as a coin, or how someone so small could write using a pen twice his size. And yet the giant constantly grumbles about Fritz almost always managing to end up underfoot, as well as the fact he’s essentially useless since he can’t complete tasks like cleaning tables or serving food.

At least the worst thing David can say is just how useless having a human working at a giant only restaurant is. Fritz has yet to be anything but useful, even if it is annoying for everyone to watch where they step.

Not that David always watches. Fritz honestly can’t tell if the giant actually knows where he’s currently standing as the list being held is asked a question. “We’re already out of party hats?”

“We’ve got half a box left,” Fritz explains, nervously twisting the strap of his backpack in his hands. “That’s why I put a note saying to order it Friday, so we have enough for next week after the all the parties scheduled for this weekend.”

At least, he’s pretty sure Lefty wrote that part down for him. Not that he wasn’t part of the process! He doesn’t just ask the animatronics to do his job for him. Ask for help walking to the storage room that would have taken him a whole hour just to get to, yes, but Fritz wouldn’t order someone to check the supplies and make a list. There’s just a possibility Fritz was distracted, either because the pen was used to chase him across the paper, or because one of the other animatronics demanded for his attention. And if he’s distracted, then Lefty takes advantage and ‘accidentally’ forgets about what he’s doing.

Honestly, Fritz should stop trusting the animatronic bear so much. Not when the last time Lefty forgot they were supposed to go to David’s office and ended up at the prize counter where Fritz was labeled as only being worth 400 tickets. The worst part is even Orville agreed!

Thankfully Lefty did write the part about ordering the party hats Friday. If he hadn’t, David wouldn’t be typing on his phone instead of lecturing Fritz about wasting precious time, that if he said to do something then it better be done correctly, or else-

The phone in David’s hand suddenly ringing admittedly makes Fritz jump. He then tenses as his shoulders hitch up in a poor attempt to cover his ears, prepared for the yelling guaranteed to come during the call. One of the many habits the giant refuses to change despite having a human employee who’s eardrums could burst and where a misplaced step could be fatal.

There’s no stopping a sigh of relief when David immediately turns to walk back toward his office as the phone is answered. Which means his hearing survives another day! And he can clock out without getting in trouble!

“Mr. Smith?” stops Fritz a second time, his finger hovering over the button to end his shift.

The teenager pulls his hand away, turning to see Mr. Hippo standing by one of the tables, the animatronic hippopotamus holding a box of crayons. Which means Fritz completely forgot about his promise to help pick out what pictures to have for the coloring station. “Oh, I’m sorry! Did you need help setting up your station?”

“Oh no, I have it covered,” Mr. Hippo smiles. “I just wanted to ask if you were aware that it’s currently snowing.”

“Snowing?” comes the immediate chorus of the other three animatronics repeating it together, with Happy’s excited cheer much louder than Orville’s bewildered murmur.

“Snowing?” Fritz finds himself repeating as well, needing a moment to process what was being said. It doesn’t truly click until he turns to the door to the outside, staring out at the streetlight working hard to keep the darkness away.

A wide smile spreads across his face at the sight of snowflakes falling past the light. Realizes what snowing means. That his walk home is going to be cold but anything except boring. Maybe he’ll even be lucky and it’ll snow enough to make a snowman! Or he can convince Mike to-!

Oh, wait, Mike won’t be walking him home. Because there’s no Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica at this location. The giant night guard doesn’t come here for his shift, meaning he won’t be coming in early to help Fritz navigate through the snow.

Which is fine, Fritz’ll be fine! He’s walked through the snow without a giant to help flatten the path before. It just means less worrying about slipping and more work to trudge through knee high snow. Even though it looks like it won’t stop snowing anytime soon, it shouldn’t get too deep by the time he gets home.

He just wishes he had a proper snow jacket, but he’ll be fine! “Think Mr. Harrison will let me have the day off tomorrow?”

Lefty snorts. “And here I thought you finally learned never to give him such credit.”

“Wish me luck getting here on time!” Fritz waves as he finally clocks out for the day. “See you guys tomorrow!”

“Mr. Smith!” Happy calls, giving Fritz a good excuse to shut the door after the wind sent a freezing shiver down his spine. “Didn’t Mr. Harrison promise to walk you home if it snowed?”

Oh, had the business man made a promise like that? No offense, but it doesn’t sound like something David would say. If he had, then it would’ve been something Scott had to forcibly gotten an agreement for.

Wait, he remembers now! Specifically David’s annoyance and Scott’s anger when the man came to restaurant last month to demand that Fritz wouldn’t walk through the snow alone. Because this is a giant only restaurant, meaning this location is a lot closer to the giant side of town then all the other ones, which means the weather is a bit different.

Fritz shivers at the memory of having to face the rain shortly after he transferred to this location. Distinctly remembers how much it hurt when a droplet the size of his arm slammed into his back. It only got worse when it made him fall face first onto the sidewalk, ending with him having a decent sized scrape on his cheek. That was one of the few times he agreed to the animatronic’s insistence he didn’t go home, even though he was right about David lecturing him about this being a restaurant not a hotel the next day.

As for Scott, he was much more upset about the scab that covered half of Fritz’s face. Truthfully, the teenager’s pretty sure James was hired part to make sure Mike doesn’t bleed out, and part to ease Scott’s mind concerning certain teenagers.

Suddenly, the snow seems a lot more daunting than before. And as Fritz watches it falling, he realizes each flake is at least the size of his hand if not bigger. He can also hear the howling wind as it races past the windows.

To be honest, he would genuinely be grateful if a giant walked with him, just to make sure he didn’t get buried by snow. Even if they only went as far as needed to get to where the snowflakes are small enough to sit on his finger instead of as big as his head.

David had promised to walk Fritz home if it was snowing. The business man wouldn’t be too upset if he was asked to follow through on it, would he?

Except...he would. Fritz can perfectly picture the glare of someone dare interrupting him during an important call. Interrupting him period even if it’s not necessarily ‘important’. Would wave his hand if he listened to Fritz’s request and tell the teenager to figure it out himself. There’s better things for the giant to do then escorting some lowly human home.

It’s times like these when he regrets agreeing to transfer locations.

Fritz glances back at the hallway where he can hear David’s yelling despite the office door being closed. Looks outside at the ground slowly being covered by snow. “I-I don’t want to bother him. Besides, it doesn’t look that bad!”

Happy and Mr. Hippo share a look of concern as Lefty shrugs. “It was certainly a pleasure knowing you.”

"Lefty!”

“Orville, even you can agree he won’t last five minutes by himself.” Fritz wilts as the bear turns away, walking back to the stage. “But it is his decision to make. Unless you would like to forcibly keep him here.”

“As unwise as it would be you walk home alone,” Orville begins. “We wouldn’t keep you here against your will, Mr. Smith.”

“But we are going to highly suggest you ask Mr. Harrison to walk you home,” Happy adds.

Fritz does appreciate how considerate the animatronics are to not grab him without permission or to force him to do something he doesn’t want. They’ll take advantage of the fact he’s no bigger than a speck to them to tease him, like taking a very long detour to get to David’s office. But they don’t just pin him down or snatch him off the counter like all of his coworkers do. Or completely avoid picking him up because it feels too weird having someone sitting in your hands.

He wouldn’t be upset if they did force him to stay, though. Might even prefer it since it’d give him a good excuse why he didn��t go home. Maybe...maybe he can go ask David to walk him at least until the snow is human sized.

And get berated the entire time. Or get completely ignored and either get left behind or nearly stepped on several times. Get told this is yet another reason why he despises humans, how hard can it be to walk home in the snow?

…he’ll be fine going home alone. How bad can it really be! Sure the snowflakes are giant, but they’re also really light. Rain is just pure water falling to the ground as fast as it can, but snow gently drifts down unless the wind blows it away. It also doesn’t look like it’s been snowing for long, plus it takes more than thirty minutes for the streets to collect a full inch of snow. He’ll be safely away from giant snowflakes by the time it gets that bad.

He’ll be fine!

“I’ll be okay, I promise!” Fritz calls up to the three remaining animatronics, giving as confident of a smile he can manage. “I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

He’s quick to walk through the door before anyone can say anything else, maybe even get David themselves. Unfortunately, a snowflake lands on his arm not even a second later, immediately soaking through his jacket. It makes his teeth chatter as he’s chilled to the bone, making him want to do nothing more than to walk right back into the restaurant.

But he can’t. Not unless he wants to get yelled at for wasting David’s time. He’ll take the cold walk home alone in the dark over that any day.

Fritz wraps his arms around himself tightly as he begins to make his way home. Yelps when snowflake touches the back of his neck, the teenager scrambling to pull the hood of his jacket he completely forgot about over his head. Unfortunately, he only manages to make things worse as the action puts the snow on top of his head, a shiver wracking his body as it melts and leaves him trembling like a leak as the wind only makes him colder.

He’s only five steps away from the restaurant, not even one step from a giant’s perspective, and he’s already miserable.

Shaking his head, Fritz continues walking, hunkering down into his jacket to keep himself as warm as possible. Even though he’s freezing, his ears and nose are protected. And hey, the wind might be cold, but it’s blowing from behind to give him a boost forward!

There absolutely won’t be any stops during this walk, though. Not when there’s no giant around to help him warm up after building a snowman. Normally he doesn’t have to worry about when the snow inevitably soak through his gloves, not when Mike always swept him up once his fingers went numb. It’s completely unfair how the night guard never needs gloves himself, even while holding a deemed ‘Irish Jig popsicle’.

It’s also unfair how a single step for a giant is twenty steps for a human. If Fritz was a giant, he most likely would already be away from the snowflakes slowly but surely weighing him down. They won’t hurt when he manage to land on his head or back, but they’re a lot heavier than expected. And despite the fact he has barely any body heat compared to giants, each one melts too quickly for him to brush them off in time.

He’s actually a little concerned with just how soaked his jacket is. The ice cold water had long since melted through the long sleeve underneath, but he doesn’t see an end to the storm anytime soon. No, if anything, it seems to be getting worse.

Fritz pauses for a moment to look behind him. Stares past the streetlight towering over his head at the faint glow of the restaurant, the glowing letters of Fazbear Entertainment Center too far away to properly read. To be honest, he hasn’t gotten that far down the sidewalk, but he’s gotten far enough away it wouldn’t be worth going back.

The teenager ducks to keep a snowflake from smacking him the face. The wind is definitely getting a bit stronger, but it’s still blowing against his back if he keeps walking home. Which means he should continue going. Especially now that the sidewalk is slowly but surely getting covered in a thin layer of snow.

He turns away from the restaurant. Forces himself to put one foot in front of the other, even though he can’t feel his toes. Or his fingers. Or his face.

It’s fine, he’ll be fine! It takes about, thirty minutes for snow to be an inch deep? He’ll be out of giant weather long before that. And he can even stop by Mike’s location for a bit! Fazbear’s Pizzeria is on the way home, and the night guard is guaranteed to come in early. He would also never say no to Fritz coming inside to warm up before continuing on his journey.

Actually, maybe he can ask Mike to walk with him. Or just carry him the whole way home. The giant wouldn’t mind, right? He’s never minded before, and maybe he misses the tradition just as much as Fritz does, and-

His thoughts are cut off as the wind nearly sends him face first into the snow. Fritz quickly pinwheels his arms to stay upright, gasping in pain as the biting cold attacks his fingers. Even though he sees he’s wearing gloves from the streetlight's orange glow, he can’t help but think there’s nothing on his hands to keep them warm. He protectively pulls his arms in close, quickly moving to take another step forward, only to find his foot is stuck.

Looking down, Fritz trembles at the sight of snow piling up around him. Feels like yet another snowflake landed on his shoulders as a shiver races down his back at the realization he made a severe miscalculation.

Oh no.

No, it’s fine, he’ll be fine! He’s been walking for a while, so he has to at least be close to where the snowflakes are smaller than the tip of his finger. He’ll get somewhere warm before the snow gets too deep. There’s no need to panic, he’ll be fine, it’ll be fine.

Even as every single inch of him trembles from the cold, unable to see his breath in the air anymore, a single step forward almost impossible to take.

He doesn’t notice when he trips before falling into the snow.

“-and I thought I explicitly told you to-!”

David cuts himself off mid-sentence as his phone rings once again for the fifth time in a row. Briefly moving the phone away from his ear, he sighs at Scott calling him yet again despite the fact he’s sent every previous call straight to voicemail. Apparently the man can’t take a hint.

“Please excuse me for one moment,” is all David offers before pausing the rather trivial conversation in order to answer the incessant ringing. “And what is so important you had to call me five times?”

“Did Fritz get home safely?” comes the most idiotic response he will ever hear.

It’s times like these where he genuinely regrets making such a fuss over having Fritz transferred to the location he owns. Even he can admit the kid had lived up to the unanimously positive accounts of just how much of an asset he is to have on the team. No one cared to tell him just how annoyingly protective Scott is over the runt. Nor did someone think it would be important to make the words ‘human’ a little bigger to not make David look like an absolute dumbass requesting such a tiny thing to work at a giant only restaurant

What’s done is done, though, and what’s done is his apparent ‘superior’ abusing the fact David can’t hang up on the man less he gets written up.

The business man pinches the bridge of his nose. “And this is my problem why?”

“He’s not answering my calls-“

“I wonder why,” David huffs with an eyeroll.

“-and since it’s snowing I wanted to be absolutely certain he made it home safe,” Scott continues, not even pausing to acknowledge the very not so subtle dig. “So can you please confirm he did?”

It’s the word ‘snowing’ that pulls David up short, a memory trying to pull at him for attention. He almost ignores it, waves away this entire conversation to say he isn’t Fritz’s mother, where the kid is and what happens to him isn’t his responsibility.

Except it is. As annoying as it needing to be careful watching where he steps in his own restaurant is, he made that decision. Fought long and hard with Scott to have Fritz work here instead of some rundown building with idiotic managers who have no idea how to use such an employee.

Snowing, why does that sound so familiar? And why does Scott almost sound like he’s panicked?

“Give me a moment.”

Surprisingly, Scott doesn’t make a fuss about not getting an immediate answer, the man eerily quiet as David stands up from his desk to walk to the main room, glancing down to make sure no miniscule figures end up underfoot.

He sees no sign of Fritz, and a look out the window sends an unexplainable twist to his stomach at the sight of steady snowfall.

He turns the phone away from his face as he catches Orville’s attention. “Where’s Fritz?”

Instead of the elephant immediately tattling on Lefty for keeping the kid past clock out time, the animatronic manages to force its permanent smile into a look of worry. “He left thirty minutes ago.”

“Fuck!” comes a genuinely panicked curse from Scott before David can full process what that means. “I can’t believe you, David!”

The business man sputters. “What did I do?”

“You let a human teenager go out into the snow alone!” Scott yells, and David is never admitting he had to hold the phone away from his head or else risk his eardrum bursting. “After you promised you would walk him home!”

He remembers now. Of Scott standing on the ground next to David’s desk, lecturing the uninterested business man who was contemplating how much trouble he could get into if he put Scott in a jar to shut him up about the difference between weather made for giants vs humans. Distinctly remembers the moment Scott realized he wasn’t being listened to.

”David, I swear to God. If Fritz ever dies on your watch-”

”Aren’t you being a bit dramatic, Scott?”

”I don’t think you understand just how dangerous it is for him. It’s almost like you want him dead.”

”Okay now you’re being dramatic. I don’t want him dead, I just don’t think something like snow is as dangerous as you’re making it out to be.”

Now that David’s actually looking at the snow, he realizes the snowflakes are easily half of Fritz’s size. Starts to understand why Scott assumes he wants the kid dead.

“God damn it, David! I trusted you! Now the poor kid’s either frozen or about to be all because you couldn’t be bothered!”

“In my defense,” David murmurs as he quickly grabs his coat, tucking his phone against his shoulder to pull his gloves on. “He didn’t come to the office to tell me it was snowing.”

“I texted you,” Scott growls lowly, his voice quivering. “Twice about there being a storm tonight.”

David remembers the text. Remembers making sure he brought a scarf and gloves with him. He also remembers rolling his eyes when he spotted Fritz’s jacket that was made for anything but the snow.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” David lies as he quickly walks to the front of the restaurant, pointedly ignoring Lefty’s stare promising his death as he unlocks the door. “I’ll text you once I find him.”

“And call James,” is all Scott says before hanging up the phone.

David doesn’t bother to give an explanation to the person still waiting on the other line, ending the call as he steps outside. Looks down at the pitiful amount of snow currently covering the sidewalk. Takes a moment to briefly lift his shoe to see the imprint left behind.

It’s not enough snow to even warrant snow shoes. But considering the fact Fritz doesn’t even stand as tall as his ankle makes it enough to be quite a chore for a human to walk through. He chalks the reason his heart is beating rapidly against his chest to the cold air making it hard to breathe.

“Fritz!”

David hesitates to choose a direction to walk. He’s never bothered to ask the kid about his commute to and from work, not when there’s never really been a reason to care. It might’ve come up in a rant the business man didn’t pay attention to, again not having a reason to care unless something infuriating was said, such as Mike’s or Eggs’ name.

Though there was that one time Fritz mentioned stopping by the location Mike work at, something about it being on the way home.

It’s not perfect, but it’s the best he’s got, meaning David makes a right as he quickly walks down the sidewalk, watching every step he takes.

“Fritz!”

That absolute dumbass. David knows that Fritz got the exact same lecture about the weather from Scott. He remembers the kid getting two lectures, one concerning the rain and how he could literally get swept into a drain if he’s not careful. Fritz will stay the night at the restaurant if it rains, but he won’t stay when it snows, or at least ask the giant tasked with keeping him safe to walk him home?

Contrary to belief, David doesn’t want the kid dead. Scott’s a different story, but despite it being annoying needing to check under his feet before so much as standing up, the giant still checks. Comments about how he wishes someone steps on Scott or a kid turns the man into an action figure to take home and keep forever, but it won’t be his shoe or his hand putting the tiny thing in the lost and found bin.

“Fritz!”

Once he finds Fritz, he’s not letting the kid out of his sight for a week. Seriously, what kind of idiot walks into a snowstorm where the snow is bigger than them? Not to give Eggs any credit but even that thing would be smart enough not to walk through it alone. Honestly how has Fritz even survived this long?

A shiver runs down David’s spine as his search continues to come up empty. He’s seen firsthand just how fast humans walk despite only being two inches tall, but Fritz couldn’t have gotten too far even with a thirty minute head start. There should at least be some sign he’s going the right way, like microscopic footsteps in the snow or a lopsided snowman sitting under a streetlamp. Unless doesn’t take the sidewalk and uses some offroad trail through the trees. But even Fritz would know that’s a stupid idea.

“Fritz!”

He’s beginning to grow a little worried. Despite there being snow on the ground, it’s not enough to make a loud crunch whenever he steps, meaning he should at least be able to hear a soft yell to acknowledge the kid’s name being called. That’s if Fritz can yell, though, and if David picked the right direction to walk.

There’s also the possibility David did go the right way but he passed the kid. He hasn’t looked up from the ground once, but with the snow blowing all around him and it being pitch dark between the streetlamps, it’s possible he might’ve accidentally missed a misshapen lump in the snow. The wind might’ve covered a quiet yell as David walked right past the buried form.

Fuck. “Fri-!”

His yell is silenced at the sight of something red sitting in the snow under the next streetlamp. Keeping himself from running toward it, David carefully checks where he’s stepping, making sure he’s not ignoring anything else that might be buried. Finally, he reaches the circle of light, kneeling down to get a better look.

“Fritz,” David breathes, staring at the sight of the kid curled up in a tight ball, half buried in snow and not even twitching at the sound of his name.

That’s far from a good sign. But first things first, Fritz needs to be taken away from the snow. Which would have been infinitely easier if the human was standing and walking on his own, but he’s not, meaning David has to pick him up.

Pick up an unconscious figure smaller than his finger when he can’t remember the last time he held a human.

It’s not that David’s afraid of holding them. It’s more so the principle he has absolutely no idea where they’ve been, and he certainly doesn’t want someone walking over his hand when they just trampled through the mud, or through soda that was split on the floor.

To be honest, Fritz is most likely covered in twenty different species of germs considering the kid works in a children’s restaurant and walks across counters that have God knows what covering them, but that’s not what has him hesitating. It’s the fact Fritz looks so small, like he’ll break at any moment if he’s so much as breathed on.

David takes a deep breath. Leans down as he reaches a hand out to carefully try and brush the snow off the kid’s back. Sighs in relief when there’s no scream of pain from a rib being broken.

Honestly, how hard can it be to pick up a human? Mike does it all the time, and if that can handle not snapping Fritz in two, then so can David.

Steeling himself, the business man slowly scoops his fingers into the snow. It’s almost pathetic just how small the pile is, yet it was enough to completely cover the kid if the wind was blowing just a little harder, meaning it’s also enough for David to slide his hand underneath Fritz before lifting his hand.

Great, he picked the kid up without crushing him. Now what does he do?

Well, it’d be a good idea to see if Fritz is even alive.

David freezes at the realization he can’t say for certain the kid is breathing. Even as he holds the absolutely miniscule thing, he can’t see or feel a single shiver, and his gloves make it impossible to tell if there’s a heartbeat.

Ignoring his own pounding heart, he’s quick to take a glove off before delicately placing a finger over Fritz’s chest. David nearly jumps as the kid almost immediately latches onto him, curling around the thumb longer than he is tall like his life depends on it. Though in Fritz’s defense, it does.

David’s relief is covered by anger at getting jump scared. “You dumbass, why didn’t you tell me you were awake!”

There’s no response, not even a twitch saying his words were heard. His thumb is simply hugged tighter, a pitiful heartbeat beating against his fingerprint to prove the kid is alive. He’s also freezing, a shiver running up David’s arm as it becomes clear a living ice cube has claimed his finger.

But at least the kid’s alive.

With both hands occupied, it takes David a moment to try and brush as much snow off of Fritz as possible. And despite the fact the kid is so cold it hurts to touch, the business man doesn’t have the heart to pull his finger away, which means he carefully moves the literal icicle into his ungloved hand, hissing in pain once the transaction is complete.

Hoping to keep his fingers from going numb, David unbuttons his coat so he can tuck his occupied hand against his chest, surrounding the kid and his hand in warmth.

David isn’t confident this is what he should be doing after finding someone nearly frozen in the snow. But what matters is he found Fritz, the kid is alive, and he’s no longer in the cold, slowly warming up. It might not be perfect, but it’s enough for now.

Carefully standing up, David shoves his extra glove into his coat pocket before grabbing his phone as he starts walking. It takes him a solid five minutes just to send a single text to Scott saying Fritz is fine with only one hand free, and the other making him paranoid Fritz’s heart skipped a beat and focusing on the kid instead. At least it only takes a few seconds to pull up James’ number to call.

“You found him?”

“I take it Scott already told you,” David growls.

“He did,” and at least the doctor respects him enough not to give an ‘I’m not angry, just disappointed’ act. “Is Fritz okay?”

“The runt’s fine, his heart’s still beating.” The business man glances down at the figure still hugging his finger as they pass under a streetlamp. “I’ve got him in my hand inside my coat so he’s out of the wind.”

“Good. You will need to keep holding him until his temperature’s back to normal.”

David gives a flat look to the darkness. “And how long is that going to take?”

“As long as it needs to,” James replies evenly. “He’ll get warmer faster if he’s wearing dry clothes and drinking something warm and sweet.”

David bristles. “And how am I supposed to make him hot chocolate with one hand?”

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

"Don’t patronize me.”

“Not patronizing you,” James smiles he can hear the smug smile. “I’ve seen you make coffee and text at the same time. But as long as Fritz is awake, you can set him down for a moment, just not for too long.”

“Fine.”

“You did a good job finding him, David,” brings the business man up short from the sincerity. “If you need any help just give me a call, but I know he’s in good hands.”

David hangs up before James can decide now would be the best time to chew him out for letting this happen and calling about what do if the kid stops breathing necessary. Scott’s content to just text that they’ll be talking about it later, but for now he’s being left alone with the assumption he’ll be busy making sure Fritz doesn’t die or end up with a cold.

He doesn’t know how long it took him to get to his house. The only thing he does know is his ears and nose have gone completely numb, Fritz is still alive, and he wants nothing more than a cup of coffee.

Unfortunately it’s a chore to simply get through the front door. Reaching around to his opposite coat pocket to find his keys, fumbling to circle through the ring with one hand until he can jam the right key into the lock. And then there’s taking his coat off, something that’s meant to be a simple task turned into a multistep process of taking his arm out of one sleeve, removing his other glove, moving Fritz blissfully unaware of the problems he’s causing to the other hand only after bribing the sleeping figure with another thumb to latch onto, until finally the coat can be put on the rack.

David can’t help but pause a moment to glare down at something so small and yet it causes him so much trouble.

He wouldn’t be surprised if Scott put in an emergency request to transfer Fritz to another location, one where he won’t freeze death while walking home. The man will also hold this over David’s head for as long as they work together, constantly bringing up the fact the so called ‘superiority’ giants have over humans means letting someone almost die under their watch.

Again, in David’s defense, Fritz should’ve come to him before walking home alone. The business man will take some responsibility, but it wouldn’t have happened if some dumbass of a teenager didn’t think they could survive snow where an inch deep is over a foot to them.

He’ll berate Fritz once the kid’s awake. For now he needs coffee and to check if he has ingredients for hot chocolate.

David finds himself flexing his hand as he walks to his kitchen, trying to warm it up after holding a sentient ice cube for so long, glad his finger could get a break before it got too numb. Of course that means his other hand is currently in agony, but there’s nothing he can do about it now.

After setting his coffee machine up and pressing the button to give him the largest cup possible, David stands by the counter, watching the steam rise up from the hot drink. Finds himself looking down at his occupied hand as Fritz seems to twitch in his sleep.

Under his bright kitchen lights without having to worry about the wind and the snow, David’s hit once again with just how small Fritz looks. Curled up in a ball, hugging a finger that could easily smother him, lying in a palm like it’s the most comfortable bed imaginable. The best part is the thumb being curled around is almost twice Fritz’s size.

All of his fingers are taller than the kid. His hand just seems to swallow Fritz whole. He won’t say it’s adorable, but he’ll definitely say it’s entertaining.

It’s also entertaining just watching something that small exist. It’s weird being able to feel the soft heartbeat against his thumb and watch as the tiny chest lifts up and down for every breath. He can’t feel Fritz shaking in his hand, but he can definitely see a distinct shiver.

...hold on.

David brings his hand closer to his face, staring at what is definitely a shiver. Which can’t be a good thing, not when they’re inside a house where the heater is currently running while being held by a giant.

D- Is shivering bad?

J- Was he shivering before?

David blinks at James’ text. Looks back at Fritz who he swears have shivers that are getting stronger.

D- I don’t think so.

J- Then it’s a good thing. It’s better for him to shiver then to not be if he’s still cold

Well the kid is definitely still cold. David’s been holding him for at least half an hour, and yet it doesn’t seem like he’s any warmer than before. But if James says it’s a good thing then they won’t go to the hospital just yet. And if James is wrong, then David can tell Scott he trusted the doctor to know what he’s talking about.

Tucking his phone away, the coffee machine beeps to remind him there’s a cup waiting. Snagging the mug, David moves to walk to his office, intent on finishing what he was working on at the restaurant. Fritz might think that eight o’clock is a little late for leaving when the building closes at six and everyone else is home by seven, but the business man has rarely left for home before ten.

The business man hesitates at the hallway. Looks down at the human he’s holding at the reminder he can’t exactly put Fritz down, at least not until the kid’s awake, meaning he would have to place orders and update spreadsheets with one hand.

Just another thing to add to the list of grievances. The things he does for the ungrateful pest.

Sighing, David turns to the living room, carefully sitting down on his couch as to not jostle Fritz too much. Can’t help a glare as he turns on the TV, finding a random movie that’s already halfway over. It didn’t matter what he watched, the only thing he wanted to do was work, not listen to amateur actors reading a script that never should’ve made it past a rough draft.

He could call James and demand the doctor take care of Fritz himself. It’s David’s mess, but it’s a bit careless to leave someone who most likely has hypothermia in the care of anyone who isn’t a certified health professional. Isn’t it more important that Fritz wakes up then teaching David a lesson?

Despite the clear right answer, he doesn’t pick up his phone, only glares at the TV and occasionally rolls his eyes at the tenth cheesy one liner in a row. Keeps an eye on Fritz as the kid starts to shiver enough for David to notice. Enough that his hand starts to ache from holding an ice cube that never melts and never dethaws.

Placing his mug down, David begins to tedious process of somehow getting Fritz to latch onto his other hand. Instead of needing to all but pry the kid away, he’s surprised when the offered thumb is immediately grabbed, almost as if drawn to it and going so far as trying to climb into the hand himself.

David raises an eyebrow as he nudges the shivering figure. “Are you just pretending to sleep?”

There’s no response, not even a guilty wince for getting caught. Nothing but the kid desperately trying to absorb all the precious heat David only just managed to get for himself.

Wait.

Glancing at his coffee mug, David carefully transfers Fritz to the hand that’s been subconsciously claimed for himself. Once it’s done, he wraps his numb fingers around the warm mug, able to actually feel the cold melting away. After a moment, he then sets it next to Fritz, the kid flopping over without hesitation to snag the thumb he only just got feeling back in.

It’s not adorable, but this is certainly much more entertaining then whatever is on the TV.

David doesn’t try to hide the smirk on his face as he continues to play the game of chasing warmth with Fritz. It is thoroughly amusing to watch the tiny limbs that could easily be pinned down or pulled away move on their own volition simply because one hand is warmer than the other. It’s almost like having a living magnet.

D- Is it bad if he moves around too much?

J- Define ‘too much’

D- Aren’t you the doctor?

J- If he’s moving around on his own volition, it’s a good sign

J- If you are the cause of him moving ‘too much’, I suggest limiting such movement

David looks down at the human in his care. Decides James knows absolutely nothing about what he’s talking about. He does length the time between each switch, however, only because he doesn’t know how much longer his hands can take holding an icicle doing a terrible job of getting warmer despite all his efforts.

Actually, should he be worried? It has been ten full minutes since they’ve been at his house, and Fritz seems to be just as cold as before. He can’t exactly give the kid something warm to drink if he’s not awake, but being inside a heated house while being held by a giant should at least be helping.

David takes a moment to hold Fritz closer to his face, eyes narrowing as he looks the kid over. Hesitates when he realized the kid’s jacket is completely drenched, and apparently he’s been wearing a backpack this entire time.

No one’s allowed to blame him for missing that. The kid’s tiny, and again he’s not an expert of taking care of someone with hypothermia. It’s also not his fault for completely forgetting what exactly James told him on the phone.

David stares for a moment at the microscopic backpack straps around Fritz’s shoulders. Scowls at the jacket zipper he can’t even see.

Wrapping his hand around his mug, the business man coaxes the tiny thing to let go of his thumb before delicately pinning down the arms smaller than toothpicks.

...never mind, he’s cutting the straps and jacket off.

When Fritz wakes up, it's to the smell of coffee and warmth.

At first he’s confused, not able to remember falling asleep. The last thing he does remember is trying to clock out on time, only for David to ask him to check inventory. And then Lefty helping him, and someone saying it was snowing, and-

Oh! That’s right! He was walking home in the snow, and then he got really, really cold.

Opening his eyes, Fritz finds himself lying in a dark cave. A very familiar one where the ground moves up and down, and a fingerprint bigger than his head sits close by.

He sighs in relief at the realization he must’ve made it to Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Or he was at least close enough for Mike to find him on the way to work. Hopefully he was at least awake when the night guard first found him and didn’t make the giant panic too badly. Well, it’s impossible to make Mike panic, worry might be a better word.

Despite being surrounded by warmth, there’s no stopping a very sudden and almost violent shiver from wracking his body, making Fritz curl up tightly to try and keep what little body heat he has. He no longer feels like he’s frozen, but he feels sore, and tired. Wants to do nothing more then go back to sleep. Wishes he wasn’t wearing wet clothes that are cold to the touch.

Suddenly, the hand above him lifts away, making Fritz yelp as he tries to shield his eyes from the bright light.

“Are you finally awake?”

Fritz goes so still he stops breathing. Because the voice booming around him isn’t Mike’s.

Trembling, the teenager slowly lifts his head, blinking rapidly against the light to try and see his surroundings. Feels his heart begin to pound when he doesn’t see the uniform for Fazbear night guard's, and instead spots a handkerchief big enough to act as a blanket sitting in an all too familiar suit pocket only a few feet away.

Mike wasn’t the one who found him in the snow, David did.

All Fritz can do is stare up at the giant in terror as the rumbling voice shakes the air. “It’s about time, I was starting to think you weren’t ever going to wake up. But now that you are, we need to make you something warm to drink. Do you have extra clothes in your backpack?”

“Y-Yes, sir,” Fritz quickly responds, turning to grab the mentioned backpack only to realize it’s nowhere to be seen.

“I had to cut the straps to get it off your back,” sends a shiver down the teenager’s spine. Before he can ask how or why, a hand cups around him right before David sits up.

Fritz can’t tell what’s shivers from being cold or shivers from fear as he tumbles into the waiting palm. He doesn’t try to say or do anything except curl into a protective ball as the giant then stands up, leaving his stomach far behind. And then he’s being jostled by heavy footsteps as he’s carried somewhere.

Please don’t drop me, please don’t crush me.

Suddenly the giant stops, and Fritz barely holds back a shriek of fear as something nudges him. “Will you freeze to death if I leave you alone for five minutes while you change?”

The shiver wracking his body is one from the cold at the thought of being anywhere except near a giant’s body heat. But Fritz doesn’t dare do anything except shake his head, trembling as he meets David’s unimpressed stare. “No, s-s-s-sir.”

The moment the hand is set down, Fritz scrambles off the warm palm, almost immediately regretting it as his entire body starts to shake from the cold. He doesn’t say anything, though, just wordlessly watches as his backpack is dropped in front of him.

“I’ll be back in five minutes,” the giant says, walking away before receiving a response.

Fritz doesn’t hesitate to start digging through his backpack, though it takes a moment for his numb fingers to cooperate in grabbing the zipper. By the time he unzips it, his teeth are chattering and he’s already exhausted. There’s no stopping a relieved sigh when he grabs the clothes he wore to school though, ones that managed to stay dry despite his entire bag being soaked through.

Once his Fazbear uniform is stuffed into his backpack, Fritz immediately curls into a ball as he hugs his knees, already feeling so much better than before. His hands and feet are still numb, and there’s no keeping his shivers at bay, but it’ll be better once David comes back.

The thought of the business man has the teenager tensing at the reminder just who found him in the snow. Not that he isn’t ungrateful! There won’t be a single day where Fritz won’t thank David for saving him.

But he knows what’s coming. He’s surprised David’s held back this long before lecturing Fritz about how stupid it was to walk home alone. About the trouble he’s caused, that it’s his fault the business man has to listen to Scott’s yelling, that the teenager’s fired and good luck getting hired at any of the other locations because who’s going to want to be responsible for some useless human who can’t even walk through the snow-

“You didn’t freeze on me again, did you?”

Fritz jolts at David’s words, scrambling to his feet as he shakes his head. “No, sir.”

A hand isn’t offered, the business man simply watching him with an unimpressed look. “That’s what you wear to school?”

The genuine terror Fritz felt at the thought he won’t be held anymore is replaced by uncertainty as he looks down at his clothes. They’re definitely not a full piece suit or a button up with slacks, but he didn’t think wearing baggy pants with a colorful t-shirt over a black long sleeve wasn’t the worse thing possible. “Um, sometimes?”

“And I thought Scott’s wardrobe was bad,” David murmurs.

A hand is finally offered, and Fritz runs to the warmth radiating off the giant. Can’t help himself from curling in the center of the palm his numb limbs slowly start to dethaw. Even though David must be furious, he appreciates the giant willing to push aside his anger enough to help Fritz stay warm. At least until he’s no longer at risk of hypothermia.

As the giant begins walking, Fritz takes a peak at his surroundings. Feels the blood drain from his face at the sight of an elegant house surrounding him. Can’t seem to swallow the lump in his throat at the realization he’s inside David’s home.

Getting buried in the snow would be better than whatever the giant has planned for him.

“You’re supposed to drink something warm and sweet,” David rumbles, making Fritz flinch from the borderline annoyance in the business man’s tone. “However, I don’t have any human sized dishes or utensils.”

The teenager’s heartbeat skyrockets as he’s then stared at with of impatience, one that is all too familiar and means that this is Fritz’s problem. And if his problem, then he needs to fix it.

“Do you, uh, m-m-may I borrow a piece of aluminum foil?” Fritz asks as quietly as possible while still being loud enough for the giant to hear. Despite having made the request after being told something was made specifically for him, he’s still surprised when David immediately opens a drawer before passing over a piece as big as his arm.

“You better not waste it.”

The teenager quickly nods his head in agreement, his hands trembling as he begins to bend the foil into the vague shape of a cup. At least he tries to. He’s never actually done something like this before and he hadn’t realized just how hard it is to bend when made for a giant.

In the end, Fritz beams as he somehow manages to make a seemingly functional mug. There’s even a small handle! A misshapen one, but it works!

Even David seems impressed as the foil mug is presented. “I take it you've done this before.”

“I actually just read about it in a book,” Fritz admits. “It’s about humans living in a world made just for giants, but apparently they use aluminum foil for almost everything, and I’ve always wanted to try it-!”

He cuts himself off when David simply stares at him with a silent question of ‘are you done yet’. He shuts his mouth with an audible click, offering his mug for the giant to take. Silently stares down at his hands until an impatient throat clearing has him look up to see the mug being offered back, this time filled with something that smells distinctly like chocolate.

Fritz quickly accepts it, protectively pulling the warm drink closer. “Th-Thank you.”

“You were an absolute dumbass tonight,” David growls overhead. “What the hell were you thinking? I know for a fact Scott had discussed that under no circumstances were you to go home alone if it’s actively raining or snowing.”

Scott had. Even reassured Fritz that if David was to refuse to walk him, he was to call the older man who would in turn make sure the giant keeps his promise. Except that would only make things worse. A reluctant David is better than a furious David that Fritz dared to tattle on him to Scott.

Fritz only nods his head in agreement to show he’s listening, that he also agrees. He would’ve taken getting berated the entire walk over landing himself in David’s literal hands to be punished however the giant sees fit.

“From now on until the end of winter, I will be walking you home every night.”

...wait, what?

David rolls his eyes at Fritz’s shock. “I can’t have my only competent employee getting buried in the snow. And Scott has another thing coming if he thinks he’ll be transferring you back to that shithole of a so called restaurant.”

He’s, he’s not being fired? Scott isn’t banning him from working at any Fazbear location?

“Scott and I will find a punishment we fell is fit for pulling such a reckless stunt,” has him flinching as the giant walks out of the kitchen and into the most lavish living room Fritz will ever see in his entire life. “But that’s something we will discuss at a later date. Until then, we’re going to make sure you don’t freeze to death.”

A shiver shakes his entire body as if to prove that despite how warm he feels, there’s still barely any feeling in his limbs, and he’s pretty sure that if he checked the mirror his lips would look blue. But even as David sits down on the couch, turning until he’s lying with his chest at an angle, the hand he’s sitting on doesn’t try to deposit him somewhere he can’t bother the giant. Isn’t left downstairs in a pile of blankets while the business man goes upstairs to sleep in a bed that’s just as ornate as the rest of the furniture.

Fritz is gently set down next to David’s pocket, the hand that carried him settling down close by.

“You aren’t going to put me in a jar?”

He nearly slaps a hand over his mouth. But even as David’s mouth twists into a cruel smirk, the business man makes no motion to stand back up. “I’ll suggest it to Scott.”

That does nothing to calm Fritz’s terror over what’s going to happen to him regarding a punishment. If anything it makes him absolutely terrified thinking about what David might do in the future if the business man randomly decides that even if Scott didn’t agree to put him in a jar this time, then what’s stopping him from doing it at some point.

But Fritz doesn’t hesitate to move closer to the hand that automatically cups over his head, careful not to spill any of his drink as he lies down, taking a deep, long breath before sighing in relief as he’s completely surrounded by warmth.

Because even though David constantly calls him a pest, the business man went looking for him in the snow. Took him home and kept him warm. Cared about him enough to go through all that trouble just to make sure he was safe. He trusts the giant won’t do anything to hurt him, not tonight or any other night.

Fritz is almost asleep when he sneezes.

“You better not have a cold.”

#so fun fact #I completely forget snow exists #because where I live snow isn't a thing #I've only ever had one winter in my life where there was snow #but it's such a fun thing to write about!#characters can get lost in a storm or they can have a nice day out making snowmen and snow angels or they have a massive snowball fight #honestly I need to write about snow more often #thank you for reminding me about it mcfries!#and thank for the absolutely wonderful prompt it was *chef's kiss*#I hope this satisfied the despicable quota of tiny Fritz's walking home alone #I will need to follow this up with wholesome snowball fight...mostly wholesome #I hope you have a great rest of your day mcfries!!#and I hope you are doing well <3 #I'll make sure to do more check ins just to give a wave!#alsodon'tlookatthetimeit'sstillFriday #FNAF bois #g/t #giant #tiny #BTE writing #ask #Snowfall And Dread #cw #content warning

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