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No Pressure

Milkshakes with giant coworkers...what could possibly go wrong?

Content Warnings: Cursing, mentions of death and murder, mentions of violence and break ins, mentions of stiches/receiving medical attention, descriptions of getting killed in multiple ways, mentions of dehumanization

Jeremy has officially joined the trio of chaos

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“Sorry, Jerber,” is spoken with so much venom, so much hatred, it leaves the young man being taunted completely frozen, too petrified to even close his eyes.

As if that would do him any good. It’d be the equivalent of hiding under the covers from the monster under his bed when he was younger. The thought that if he can’t see it, then it can’t see him.

No, if he were to close his eyes, he wouldn’t just magically be hidden from sight and impossible to find. He would still be standing on a desk made for someone a hundred times his size with the haunting sound of a crank slowly unwinding, the massive blue hand of an animatronic mascot reaching for him as its owner looms directly above him with a bloodthirsty smile.

...on second thought, maybe he would like to close his eyes. Knowing what’s coming is terrifying, but watching it happen makes it ten times worse.

“Looks like you lose.”

Jeremy trembles as the hand begins to wrap around him, only for everything to freeze as the distinct chime of his shift ending rings through the office.

ToyBonnie’s hand obediently opens before pulling away, the massive blue bunny wearing an unimpressed frown as Jeremy collapses to his knees in relief. “Well that’s lame.”

Jeremy doesn’t try to disagree, too focused on remembering how to breathe and focusing on anything but the sound of his heartbeat thudding in his ears. Is it normal not to be able to feel his legs? Is it supposed to burn every time he gasps for air?

He can’t help a breathless scream as a massive finger pokes his side, frantically scrambling away out of fear of it grabbing him, or flicking him, or crushing him.

“Guess we’ll be seeing you tomorrow night,” ToyBonnie huffs, clearly annoyed he managed to lose despite being so close to winning. He gives another harsh poke that makes Jeremy curl into a ball with a silent plea to please don’t kill him he didn’t mean to cheat please don’t kill him. “Hope you learn from your mistake.”

At the grating sound of mechanical parts grinding against each other followed by the catastrophic thumb as heavy machinery hits the ground, Jeremy waits until the desk stops jumping with every step ToyBonnie takes before carefully peaking past his arms. When he spots the first ray of sunshine lighting up the end of the hallway and no signs of any animatronics, a heavy weight finally lifts off his chest as he takes a shaky breath.

That was much too close. He’s only been working as a night guard for Fazbear’s for a little over a month, but he’s never almost lost before, even when he was first left on his own after a week of training. Sure, the tablet he uses to check the camera is the size of a swimming pool to him, and he has to sprint across the desk to hide behind the Freddy head so he isn’t grabbed by any of the giant animatronics that come into the office, but it’s more physically demanding more than anything. In his opinion keeping track of the animatronics is easy, he just has a few issues with being quick enough to reach everything.

But he was particularly slow to react this time. The music box seemed like it was unwinding a lot quicker than it should on a Monday night, and he tripped when he jumped off the tablet to reach the flashlight, and Mangle kept appearing in the hallway no matter what he did!

The worse part is he thought the animatronics liked him. Maybe not enough not to kill him if he’s ever grabbed before his shift ends, but enough to agree it’s a lot for one person to handle, especially a human working at a location made for giants and using things that could crush him if they ever fell on top of him. They had even agreed that because he can’t actually pick up the flashlight that’s as big as a tree to him, as long as he flips it on they’ll count it even if it’s not pointed in their direction. But maybe that was less them wanting him to win and more so needing to be as fair as possible...or maybe it’s because Mike threatened them if they didn’t agree.

Carefully sitting up, Jeremy hugs his knees as he stares down at the wooden grain of the desk he could easily trip over and maybe even lose his shoe. Feels his trembling only get worse instead of better when he remembers it’s only the first day of the week. He’ll have to come in again tomorrow and do it all over again. Maybe ToyBonnie will bring up the fact Jeremy should’ve lost tonight. The others might taunt him about this will be the night he loses if he had to be saved by his shift ending.

...why did he ever agree to take this job? Why didn’t he take Scott’s offer to leave before he even started once they realized he was human? Why did he think he’d be able to work a job where he runs around a desk like a lost mouse?

Why did Mike ever think he’d be good at this?

Suddenly, it sounds as though something crashes against a wall, the sound echoing down the hall as it distorts into a horrifying cacophony, earning a fearful squeak from Jeremy as he holds his breath hoping it’s not ToyBonnie coming back to finish the job, there’s not someone breaking into the restaurant, he’s not going to get blamed for damages he didn’t cause.

“Good morning!” lets him take one small breath. Because someone coming to vandalize or rob a place don’t say good morning, do they?

“Damn, you didn’t break the shitty door,” and that causes Jeremy’s small bit of hope crumble into pieces.

“I can kick it again!”

“I'm pretty sure you already gave Fitzgerald a heart attack with your first attempt. We also wouldn’t be able to blame him for one less door if you did break it.”

Wait, that’s his last name. They’re not talking about him are they? Someone didn’t come specifically to kidnap him have they!

Any want to quickly find somewhere to hide is foiled as a dark shape appears at the end of the hallway. The sunlight doesn’t hit their face, but even if it did, Jeremy wouldn’t be able to see any detail. Not with how blurry everything gets at certain distances, especially when he’s inside a place made for giants.

It’s clearly a person, though. And they’re walking straight toward him.

“Bet he’s on the floor already.”

Jeremy’s trembles pause, almost to make it easier to listen, because the voice almost sounds familiar. They immediately start up again as a second and then third form steps into the hallway, all three steadily getting bigger and bigger as they get closer and closer.

“How much money are you willing to lose?”

“Hmm, I’m thinking 50.”

As the first figure finally gets close enough, Jeremy sighs in relief at the sight of James stepping into the office. “Looks like you bet wrong Benedict, he’s still on the desk.”

“Fuck!”

Despite the yell being loud enough to hurt his ears, Jeremy can’t help perking up at the realization the familiar voice had been Eggs. He tries his hardest to hold back a flinch as the mechanic runs the rest of the way down the hall, yelping when the towering man stops right in front of Jeremy before kneeling down. His joy at seeing one of his favorite coworkers turns into slight alarm as massive arms are suddenly set on the desk in front of him as Eggs sets his chin on his wrists before flashing a Cheshire grin.

“Hey, Jer, how you been?”

“Uh, g-g-good?” is all the human can offer as he tries to calm his racing heart from the catastrophic actions. Of course he knows Eggs doesn’t mean to set off his fight or flight instincts. He’s still getting used to giants all together, and his coworkers still haven’t grasped just how big they are.

They’ve gotten better! Jeremy remembers when he was immediately grabbed by Eggs whenever the mechanic spotted him. Or when none of them realized just how loud their voices are and therefore never hesitated to yell even when he was right beside them. And the several incidents of stepping over him, or nudging him with a shoe, or dangling him by the back of his shirt. Those are now few and far between, though Eggs is still a little grabby, same with Mike.

They have yet to get down the fact that with how big they are, quick actions are a bit nerve wracking. Especially when there’s absolutely nothing Jeremy can do to get them to stop an action or get out of the way in time.

It also doesn’t help that he’s still not over the fact that he nearly lost the game today. That he was nearly killed. That James and Eggs were almost greeted by an empty desk, with no sign of Jeremy ever working here.

“Was that a question?” Eggs smirks, and suddenly there’s a finger nudging Jeremy’s side as he nearly falls over. The human is quick to grab onto the digit to stay upright, too stubborn to let his knees go. The instinctual action turns into a possessive hold as warmth floods through him, pulling the finger closer as it obediently moves with his demanding tugs to hover above his knees. “Hey no stealing my body heat!”

“You h-have enough to g-g-give,” Jeremy counters with a glare, daring the giant to take his hand away. He’s only given a loud sigh that ruffles his curly hair and earns a harder glare.

“Jaaaames, heeeelp. Jeremy the heat vampire is going to turn me into a popsiclllle.”

“That’s always the risk you take when you give in to poking him,” the doctor says, making Eggs groan as his head flops over dramatically.

“Then go on without me! Leave me to my fate.”

“You promised shitty fries, asshole.”

Jeremy snaps to attention at the sound of Mike’s voice, having completely forgotten there had been three giants. As he looks beyond Eggs’ massive form taking up most of his view, he finally spots the man who trained him for the night shift, a smile spreading across his face as Mike gives a familiar smirk in return.

“H-H-Hi, Mike!”

“Hey, Jerber. Fucking shit up?”

Jeremy blinks at the question, glancing between Eggs pretending to be dead by closing his eyes and sticking his tongue out, and the claimed finger that seemed to be the cause of the giant’s untimely end. “...maybe?”

Mike grins. “Fuck yeah, just like I taught you.”

“Looks like you taught him too well,” James muses, reaching over to poke Eggs and receive a dramatic bleh sound. “He’s killed our milkshake patron.”

Jeremy’s eyes widen as he stares up at the giant. “Milkshake?”

As James looks over at him in amusement, he ducks his head in embarrassment at his reaction to hearing such a simple word, not having meant to say it almost pleadingly. Though in his defense, he can’t even remember the last time he had a milkshake.

The worse part is one of his favorite foods is served at the location he works at. Not every Fazbear restaurant does, but this one offers it, and he always sees at least one being carried out to a table when he’s leaving after his shift ends.

...actually, no, the worse part is the fact that one of the perks for being the night guard is being able to get free food. But this is a restaurant made for giants, meaning every pizza and milkshake is big enough for him to become a topping or an extra ingredient to. And no matter how much he loves milkshakes, there is absolutely no possible way for him to eat something bigger than him all on his own, or to take home to slowly eat away at.

Although, from what he’s heard from the animatronics and how the kitchen cuts a few corners, maybe he should be grateful he can’t eat any of it...

That being said, he always watches longingly whenever food is brought out for a table. And his nose always turns toward the pizza’s that came right out of the oven. And he admittedly gets jealous when Fritz refills his soda cup.

“Oh yeah,” jerks him out of his thoughts, jumping as Eggs opens a massive eye to focus on him. “I was going to invite you to join us for milkshakes. Buuuut I’m dead, so, bleh.”

The human nearly yells with desperation as Eggs sticks his tongue out again, almost begs the mechanic to let him come along, he’ll take back whatever he said!

Mike elbowing James catches his attention first. “I call dibs on the bastard’s wallet.”

“I want his collection of random ID’s.”

“Hey my collection is sacred!” Eggs exclaims, the giant sitting up as he turns to properly yell at James, making him loom over Jeremy. And then the finger that had been so gentle when it poked him becomes a heavy weight that pins him in place.

That’s when his cautious fear regarding giants comes rushing back. That as much as his coworkers are thoughtful of just how small he is to them, always careful when they grab and poke at him and always watching the ground when they walk, he will always be genuinely afraid of them. Because there’s always the one time they forget to be careful, or they think he isn’t around and don’t watch the ground. Or like now, when they’re distracted by something or someone and completely forget about him and how fragile he is.

At least Eggs doesn’t crush him this time, his finger just becoming a little too heavy where his knees shake from the pressure being applied...or maybe that’s just his trembling.

Because what about the next time? What if someone blindly sets something down right on top of him? What if they’re grabbing him as someone calls their name? What if they try to grab his arm or leg when someone screams or something breaks?

What if Eggs kills him now right after he just barely won the game?

Panic grips Jeremy as he frantically tries to shove the massive finger longer than he is tall and ten times more powerful, he has to get away now before it crushes him-!

“So what do you say, Jer?” rumbles around him at the same time the digit that should have been impossible to move immediately lifts away from a single push, settling down almost delicately in front of his shoes.

Jeremy can’t seem to find any words to say, instead looking up at Eggs grinning down at him, the giant’s full attention on the human that should’ve been crushed like a bug. “T-T-T-To wh-what?”

“Coming with us to get milkshakes,” the mechanic says, possibly even repeating something he already said. And yet there’s no eye roll or rough poke, no threat the human should be grateful he’s even being asked instead of simply being grabbed and brought along without a choice. “As much as I love Fazbear’s ice cream made from cardboard and pizza from the trash-”

“You eat that shit daily, asshole.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t have one every week.”

“-I know a place with the best ones in town!” Eggs finishes without any attempt to prove what James and Mike added to be wrong. “It’ll be my treat!”

Going somewhere with three giants. Not to another Fazbear location, to an unknown restaurant that could be miles away from where he lives, that may or may not serve human sized dishes, for an unknown amount of time or if he would be allowed to leave whenever he wanted.

“...wh-where is it?” Jeremy quietly asks.

“It’s actually right across the street,” Eggs replies as he jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “So close you’d be able to wave to the Toys through the window!”

Well, he could, but the animatronics wouldn’t even know if he was due to how small he is. It’d be easier to see a butterfly at that distance than him trying to wave. Something he knows the giant is well aware of.

And yet he knows if Eggs were to ask if the Toys saw Jeremy wave and they said no, the giant would berate them for their audacity for not giving the respect such a thing deserves. And then Mike would find a to destroy them enough they’d be decommissioned for at least a day to which James would come up with an excuses for why it was ‘necessary’.

...milkshakes are worth the possibility of nearly getting killed three times in one day.

“Mike c-carries me,” is his one condition.

He realizes it sounds much too like a demand where Mike has to carry him even if the giant didn’t want to, but any floundering to take back his words are stopped by the man in question already walking over to the desk and making it jump with every catastrophic footstep. Jeremy can’t help a small squeak as he expects to immediately be swept off the desk, only to have a massive hand set down palm up a few feet away.

Eggs then stands up with a dramatic bow. “Your giant awaits, oh great and noble Jer.”

Jeremy carefully unfolds himself from his protective ball, slowly standing up as his limbs protest. He didn’t know just how long he’s been curled up, nor did he realize he was still shaking, so when he takes his first step he ends up tripping over his own feet. And since his first instinct to curl up again, he would’ve fallen face first if it weren’t for fingers suddenly appearing to catch him.

Catch him, and then sweep him up, making Jeremy curl into yet another ball as he’s sent tumbling head over heal.

“Let’s go, assholes.”

“Bet I can beat James there!”

“That’s a bet you’d lose!”

Jeremy squeaks as he finally comes to a stop, unable to help curling up even tighter as everything jolts around him before a gust of wind nearly sends him tumbling all over again as he senses massive beings moving before seemingly disappearing. Then everything jolts again, and again, everything else going quiet save for the sound of someone breathing.

Peaking past his arms, Jeremy finds himself in the center of a massive hand cupped around him, fingers that could easily curl over and pin him down just out of reach with the world beyond them moving past him in a blur. Turning to look directly above him, he freezes at the sight of Mike watching him with a smirk. “You okay, Jerber?”

He’s a bit frazzled, and his tumbling didn’t really help his trembles, but he’s okay. Admittedly enjoying just how warm it is sitting inside a giant’s hand. “I-I’m okay.”

He instinctively hides his face as something nudges his back. “Glad you came to have shitty milkshakes with us. Been A Dick’s been wanting to ask for goddamn weeks, but you’re always gone by the time we show up.”

“Really?” Jeremy asks as he sits up to properly see the giant’s expression, watching as Mike nods before shrugging, yelping as he feels the motion as the entire hand lifts up and down note to self never sit on Mike’s shoulder.

“It's our weekly night guard meet up, plus Stitches and sometimes Phone Guy. Don’t want you to miss out on bitching about the animatronics and fucking shit up with us.”

So Mike, Eggs, and James hang out after work once a week after their night shifts, and they’ve been wanting Jeremy to join. Not just for today, but every week moving forward by the sound of it. Even though he’s the only human employee in the entire company and has unknowingly been blowing off any previous attempts to invite him. Even though he nearly got killed after only a month of working as a night guard. Even though he’s quiet, and stutters, and constantly cowers whenever someone moves too quickly, and can’t bring himself to hate the animatronics who try to kill him every single night.

Easily able to be lost Jeremy. Fragile needing to be careful around constantly Jeremy. That Jeremy.

“Y-Y-You want me around?” slips out before he can stop himself.

Instead of looking as though he’s been caught red-handed, or maybe even guilty, Mike looks genuinely confused. “Why the hell wouldn’t we?”

Before Jeremy can answer, the giant is opening the door to the restaurant, stealing his words away as he’s brought into the sunlight after spending six hours in almost complete darkness. Darkness that was almost his tomb, never able to see the light of day after being taken into the back rooms to be killed. His corpse never to be found.

Forgotten.

A shiver runs up his spine as relief and terror fight for his attention. Because on one hand, he left the restaurant in one piece. He’s alive, and he’ll be able to go home, and there’s no shortage of games for him to play and books to read to take his mind off of the harrowing night. But on the other, he has to come back for another shift. Face murderous animatronics all over again. Do everything he can with what limited tools are provided to keep himself alive for yet another night. And he’ll have to do it the next night. And the next, and the next, and the next...

“Mike, James is cheating!”

Jeremy admittedly startles at Eggs’ yell, his attention locking onto two blurry forms on the ground next to a building they seem to be walking toward. It’s hard to tell what exactly he’s looking at though, because even though he’s fairly confident one of them is Eggs, the giant seems to be on the ground.

“It’d be past tense. I cheated because I’ve already won,” the other blurry form replies, sounding a lot like James. Meaning the two forms on the ground are his coworkers.

“You didn’t win, I call a rematch!”

James snorts at that, and with a few more steps from Mike, everything comes into focus to reveal Eggs lying on his stomach, his arms forced behind his back as James holds them in place as he keeps the mechanic pinned down despite the struggles to get back up. And that’s when Jeremy feels a pain of regret for agreeing to join at the realization the two were wrestling.

Wrestling, even though their human coworker is capable of being crushed purely on accident if he ever ended close to where they were fighting.

Mike only gives his own snort of amusement. “Who tackled who?”

“Benedict tackled me,” James immediately tattles. “I was going to win, so he tackled me to not lose the bet and instead lost twice.”

“I demand a rematch!”

Jeremy’s shoulders hike up in a poor attempt to cover his ears from the shout. But he can’t seem to be able to move his arms as they stay locked around his knees...when did he curl up again? Why is Mike getting closer to the two? What if Eggs manages to get back up and accidentally knocks into Mike or make James topple into him? What if they decide to wrestle with Mike and make Jerremy fall or get crushed?

“You know I’d win again,” James taunts as he frees Eggs’ arms and stands up. Even though his legs could be swept out from under them or Eggs could lunge again they’re much too close they’re going to start fighting again he needs to get a safe distance away. “With me having more muscle mass and all.”

“Muscle mass, schmuscle mass,” the mechanic huffs as he stands up. Lifts his arms as Jeremy covers his head with his own arms in preparation of what’s to come, he should never have trusted to be around so many giants at once milkshakes aren’t worth getting killed over. “You’re paying for your own milkshake!”

“I think you should buy me two.”

Jeremy’s breathing stops as he waits for the fighting to begin. For Mike to get knocked to the ground. For the hand to turn into a crushing fist from reflexes, or for him to fall from a fatal height to the unforgiving ground below.

“You drive a hard bargain. Deal!”

...nothing happens. No sudden tackle to begin a rematch. No forcing Mike to wrestle to try and prove superiority. As Jeremy carefully peaks past his arms, he watches as Eggs and James shake hands before the mechanic turns to grab the door they fought each other to reach first, opening it as he gestures for everyone to walk inside.

Jeremy can’t help a quiet squeak as something nudges him. He looks up to find Mike watching him with a smirk. “Don’t worry, Jerber. You don’t have to start shit if you don’t want to.”

“You make it sound like I was part of the problem,” James comments. The doctor only smiles at Jeremy’s wide-eyed stare, worried he might’ve been offended over the human’s blatant fear and distrust. “Don't ever listen to what Benedict says, I never instigate.”

“You’re a goddamn liar, Snitches,” Mike vocalizes what Jeremy doesn’t have the heart to say aloud. Not that he doesn’t think James always lies! But he’s heard plenty of stories from Scott about the doctor starting rivalries between coworkers.

But...at least he won’t have to worry about being part of any physical altercations.

“Yeah, James,” Eggs grins as he slips in front of them. “Stop being the problem child.”

“Says you,” the doctor coughs into his hand.

Jeremy goes stone still as the mechanic’s mouth drops open, looking seconds away from lunging at James and making the human take back everything he thought, his coworkers are going to forget about him and end up crushing him in a wrestling match.

“Welcome in!” a voice suddenly cuts in before a fight breaks out, causing Jeremy to flinch as Eggs straightens up. Rather than start another wrestling match, the mechanic points to his eyes before pointing at James in an ‘I’m watching you’ motion before turning to the person behind a counter. “Or should I say welcome back.”

“Good morning, Erin!” the mechanic greets with a wide smile. He quickly walks over to put his elbow on the counter, propping his cheek against his fist. “How are you this fine day?”

“You mean the one that hasn’t even started yet?” the woman smirks as she copies him. “Cut to the chase, Benedict, or you’re getting coffee instead of milkshakes.”

Confusion slowly begins to creep through Jeremy at the sound of a certain menu item being held hostage, especially when it’s clear the two know each other. Glancing around the rest of the restaurant, he takes in the sight of checkered floors with blue and white colored booths along the walls, padded stools lining the counter Eggs stands at. It’s hard to make out what the menu says on the wall above their heads, but it’s clear this in a diner, one that much like Fazbear’s hasn’t been remodeled since the 80’s.

It’s quiet, though, and the rather familiar aesthetics are comforting, as ironic as that sounds. It makes him feel a lot better for blindly trusting his coworkers. Not that he thought they would have any ill intentions!

“So, get this, you know how Clara was going to leave Vlad?”

“Because he kept saying the baby isn’t his even though it clearly is?”

“Was this week an Immortal And The Restless week?” James asks despite Jeremy only becoming even more confused. “I was hoping to get updated on Roses And Betrayal.”

“You know he fucking loves the vampire one,” Mike replies. “He’s still pissed he missed it that one time.”

“Right! So, because he sucks, she was going to take the car, but apparently it’s a rental,” Eggs continues, his voice low as if he’s telling a closely guarded secret.

“No!”

“Yes! She knew she wasn’t going to get the house, though, so she ended up setting it on fire!”

Erin gasps. “She did?!”

“She did! And that’s how the episode ended!” Eggs exclaims, and oh, they’re discussing a TV show. One that Jeremy admittedly is a little curious about.

“Well in my opinion, I think it’s the least he deserves,” Erin begins, both Eggs and James nodding in agreement. “Alright, you’ve earned your milkshakes, I’ll get the machine warmed up. But I expect an update next week.”

“Hopefully there will never come a day that I fail, it’d with be a tragedy for both of us,” Eggs laments with a hand on his heart, his head hanging sorrowfully.

Erin rolls her eyes. “I don’t want excuses, I want results.”

“Yes, ma’am! Oh, and before I forget, can we get three shakes this time, one of them human sized?”

Jeremy jolts at the reminder of just where exactly he is, that the discussion he was listening to was between two people who’s words could easily drown out anything he tried to say. That he’s in an unfamiliar place he failed to ask if they offered human sized portions or if it was expected for him to bring his own glass to add a drop of their own portion into. He doesn’t even know if the building he stands in is friendly to humans and has seating made for him, or if he’s seen more as a pet to hold and put in a pocket or a pest to chase away from a food establishment.

“Your friend finally came?” Erin asks, and Jeremy has to stop himself from ducking out of sight as her eyes lock onto him, watching as the woman brightens. “You did! Good to see you could make it this time!”

Even though it’s clear she’s happy to see him, he can’t but feel overwhelmed and a bit confused about why his arrival has been anticipated, even expected. Was he supposed to bring something? Did his coworkers make a promise on his behalf he’s expected to fulfill now that he’s here?

They didn’t promise that she could hold or pet him...did they?

“Your friends have been wanting to invite you for ages,” doesn’t help calm his nerves. “I promise we make the best shakes in town no matter what Eggs tries to say.”

“Hey I tell everyone you’re the best!”

“Like how you tell everyone you’re an angel that does no wrong?” Erin demands.

Eggs pouts. “No.”

“Uh huh, sure,” she smirks. “Which flavor would you like? We’ve got chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and banana. I can also do a malt if you prefer.”

“Ch-Ch-Chocolate please,” comes out of his mouth before he can fully process the words, fully decide if he wants to stay or ask Mike if he wouldn’t mind helping him outside so he can start making his way home.

“Chocolate, please,” James repeats after a moment of silence, taking away Jeremy’s last chance to change his mind.

Erin gives a thumbs up. “You’ve got it! You guys can sit down wherever you’d like, I’ll have your drinks out in ten. Oh, and the human tables and chairs are in a compartment in the wall in all the booths.”

“Thanks, Erin!” Eggs waves as he suddenly darts away to the left, Mike and James obediently following with Jeremy in tow.

He can’t help turning his head toward the door, watching as the sign reading ‘closed’ hanging on a hook becomes too blurry to read at an alarmingly fast rate, the outline turning hazy enough it blends in with the rest of the windows after only two more steps, something that sends a spike of fear through him when he realizes he’s trapped. In a place where there might not be a human exit, in a restaurant that the employees aren’t required to make sure a fellow coworkers isn’t snatched off the ground like a lost toy.

What if the others forget about him when they leave? What if he wants to leave early and they refuse to help him to the door? What if another giant comes in and grabs him while the others aren’t looking? What if they accidentally add him to the change and he gets locked in the register with the rest of the money?

“How’s this spot, Jer?”

Jeremy almost curls into a ball from surprise, looking up in confusion to see Eggs waiting for a response. “F-F-For what?”

“For us to sit and gossip,” the mechanic smiles. “We tend to sit back here, but if you want to sit at the counter, or in the back corner, we’ve got no complaints!”

He glances over at James patiently standing next to Mike, making no move to sit at the selected booth or walking to another one with his own preference. “C-C-Can we sit closer t-to the door?”

Without a word, Mike turns on his heel, the human squeaking as the quick motion makes him fall onto his side. “Tell me when to stop, Jerber.”

Jeremy quickly sits up to properly see where the giant is walking, eyes squinting as he tries to make out where the door is. After several steps, it seems to materialize, his shoulders slumping in relief he at least knows where the exit it. A squeak escapes as he’s jolted yet again, waving his arms to tell the person carrying him to stop. “H-H-Here's good!”

The giant stops, turning to a booth that looks identical to the one Eggs originally chose. “This one?”

“Yes please,” Jeremy nods. That’s when he spots James and Eggs walking over to inspect the chosen spot, realizing the question might not have been a genuine one and more of a rhetorical one meant to sound polite. For all he knows, he might be breaking a sacred tradition for their weekly milkshake meetups. “I-I-If that’s okay, I-I-”

“I’ve got no preference!” Eggs announces as he quickly slides onto one side of the booth, James immediately following without a word.

Jeremy yelps as he seems to fall for a split second, his heart hammering against his chest when he realizes he was left behind due to Mike sitting down. And now he wants nothing more than to stand on solid ground after being held for so long, wants to stand on something flat and solid that can’t suddenly disappear from underneath his feet.

Suddenly, the hand he’s sitting on tilts, leaving him silently screaming as he slides onto an unfamiliar surface. One that’s pure white, cold, easy to stand up on, doesn’t have a pulse...

Finally on solid ground, Jeremy’s heart slowing begins to settle as he slowly takes in his surroundings. He can’t help a small flinch at the sight of a ketchup and mustard bottle three times his height and a salt and pepper shaker easily big enough for him to hide behind. At least there’s no party hats he could get trapped under or utensils big enough to scoop him up with, just an admittedly daunting napkin holder the size of a building.

Fully turning around before looking to his left, he sees a rather familiar sight as Mike sits with one elbow on the table to prop his cheek up with. Granted this is a much cheerier backdrop instead of the hauntingly dark office at the Fazbear location he works at, but it’s what he saw every night for a week as Mike trained him on how to survive the night shift. All except for one night when the giant came in a little early and decided to take a nap by propping his shoes on the desk in order to properly recline back, something that scared Jeremy so badly Mike went so far as to put him in a pocket to help calm him down before their shift started.

To be honest, he didn’t mind the pocket, but he knows the moment he tells the giant is the moment he’ll always be pocketed.

But he misses Mike helping him on his shifts. The giant always asked so many random questions, like what Jeremy liked to do on the weekends, what was a nintendo, does he know why balloons float, who does Jeremy think would win in a fight Mike or Marionette. He also knew every loophole for getting out of being killed by even a barely noticeable flash from the flashlight still counted and there technically is a rule where two animatronics can’t camp inside the vents to wait until the other is occupied so they come out right after the other.

If Mike had been with him tonight, he wouldn’t have barely gotten out alive.

“Dude this stupid thing won’t open-”

“I think you pull it down-”

“Ah ha!” pulls Jeremy’s attention to his right, eyes widening at Eggs towering directly next to him, almost needing to tilt his head back to properly see the giant’s face.

He should’ve been focusing on Eggs’ hands, squeaking as the massive limb casts a shadow over him, covering his head protectively with his arms instinctively. He knows it wouldn’t do anything if something twice his size falls on top of him, or if fingers decided to pluck him off the table, but even if his first instinct was to run he wouldn’t even be quick enough.

“There you are, Jer!” booms overhead, coaxing him to open an eye to see a table and chair standing before him. Something that’s his size and the same color as the booth and table he stands on.

This was actually made for him.

“That’s actually cool as hell,” Eggs murmurs, reaching forward to delicately pinch the chair between his first finger and thumb.

For a moment, Jeremy stares in awe at the sheer size difference. Sitting inside someone’s hand is one thing, but being able to watch something else on the same scale being held, it puts it in a better perspective just how big giants are. Eggs’ nail is as big as the chair’s back padding, meaning it’s as big as Jeremy’s own torso.

And then the chair’s suddenly being lifted up high above his head, the chair he’s meant to sit in stolen. “H-H-Hey!”

Eggs freezes as if he was caught red-handed. He blinks a few times before offering an apologetic smile as he carefully puts the chair back down. “Sorry, I just always see you at Fazbear’s, so it feels like you just got shrunk.”

Jeremy blinks. “Really?”

“It doesn’t help we only see you in your uniform,” James chimes in. “It seems like you got shrunk while on your shift so you’re stuck wearing it forever.”

He never thought about that second part, but Jeremy does feel like he’s just been shrunken every time he goes to work. Like the bus he takes passes through a ray on the way there and back, shrinking him when he’s on the way to Fazbear’s and growing him when he going back home. It would explain all of the giant buildings surrounding him, why there’s no tablet or flashlight his size that he can use. He never thought his coworkers thought about it the same way.

“We should get you some human sized items, maybe a proper desk so you have somewhere to sit on the slow nights,” Eggs muses. “Break the illusion.”

“You just want to mess with miniature things,” James smirks, making Jeremy tense due to him being a miniature thing.

“What? No! I want to make sure Jeremy doesn’t think he needs to become a borrower every time he’s at work!” The giant then turns to him with a thoughtful look. “Completely unrelated, have anything unbreakable and you wouldn’t mind if it accidentally got lost on you?”

Jeremy becomes frozen at the thought of giving something to such a massive being. Someone who could easily crush him like a bug, none the less an item that could be carried inside his own pocket. All he really has is his phone, and that will break the moment a giant so much as touches it.

...will he be grabbed if he doesn’t have anything to offer?

“I-I-I-I, I d-don't-” He cuts himself off as his hand wraps around the small pack of gum he had completely forgotten about. “W-W-Would gum suffice?”

Eggs leans over as he holds out the pack for inspection, making the human jump in surprise as the giant’s eyes widen, his pupils dilating as he locks onto something that, as small as it is to Jeremy, is absolutely miniscule to the person who can mistaken him for a stick of gum.

“Holy shit it’s tiny,” Eggs breathes, and Jeremy has to hold the pack tightly before it’s blown away from a sigh. “Can I hold it?”

Quickly shaking his head, he watches as a single finger approaches, stopping a foot away. Jeremy takes two steps closer to set the pack of gum he’s positive he’ll never see again in the middle of the giant’s fingerprint, backing away to let the giant do whatever he wants with the item.

Before Eggs can lift his hand up, it’s falling onto the tabletop.

“You dropped it,” James observes, making Jeremy leap a solid foot in the air at how close the doctor sounds. He jumps a second time when he turns to see James’ face only a few feet away as well as Mike’s, all three giants leaning closely to try and see the tiny object.

“I didn’t even do anything!” Eggs whispers.

“I-I-I think you breathed,” Jeremy says as he picks up the pack, hesitating at the open mouth his words earned.

“My breathing did that!”

“You a-a-are r-really big,” the human murmurs as he gives the pack back to Eggs. This time, there’s a distinct lack of the giant breathing as the pack is slowly, delicately pinched between two fingers.

Once it’s secured, Eggs lets out the breath he was holding, earning a glare as Jeremy fixes his curls. The giant is too focused to notice as he lifts the gum into the air, holding it directly up to one eye as he closes the other one. “It’s fucking miniscule. I can’t even count how many are left.”

“Think you can take one stick out?” James asks.

“Bet I can and you can’t,” the mechanic counters.

“You’re on.” The doctor sits up before turning his attention onto Jeremy, the human tensing from where he’s sat down in his chair, unable to help feeling slightly worried his table might get swiped away. “Mind if I ask why you wanted to sit closer to the door?”

Actually, he’d rather have his table stolen then answering the question. Not when he doesn’t want to admit he doesn’t trust his coworkers fully. Not all of them, though! Mike tends to grab instead of offer a hand, but he’s given Jeremy more reasons to trust his hand rather than cower from it.

And it’s not because Eggs or James are bad people! James was the one to properly introduce him to Fritz when he first assumed Jeremy had been brought into the restaurant by accident. Eggs installed a staircase on the side of the desk so Jeremy could get to the top on his own instead of needing to ask for someone’s help.

They’re just big. It’s hard to get past that when anything they do could hurt or kill him, even on accident.

...wait, he’s got a good reason he can use! “It’s hard for me to s-s-see things.”

James raises an eyebrow. “You’re near-sighted?”

He didn’t think this through properly. “You know wh-when it’s hard to see things at a distance, like they get f-fuzzy and out of focus?” The giant nods his massive head before opening his mouth in a silent ‘ah’. “The doors only a f-few f-f-feet away for you, but it’s about a m-mile away for me from here.”

“And past the door is yet another one to ten,” James muses. He hesitates before a smile spread across his face. “You couldn’t tell it was us this morning, could you?”

“I-I-I-I recognized your voices,” Jeremy murmurs as he curls into himself. “But n-no, I couldn’t see your face u-u-until you were in the office.”

James suddenly leans over as he gestures to the rest of the diner. “Where exactly does everything gets out of focus for you?”

Glancing past Mike’s arm, Jeremy looks across the vast distance between their table and the counter lined with empty stools. He glances at the menu with letters too close to properly tell them apart, but he can still tell what it is. Right where the window is for the cook to take orders and pass dishes through is where everything becomes too blurry to distinguished.

“Uh, r-right where the kitchen window is. That b-back wall.”

James follows where his arms is pointing. “That’s still an impressive distance. I’m assuming here is right when you started to see the door clearly, but we’re still five booths down.”

Mike blinks. “Damn, Jerber, you can’t see shit.”

“What can’t Jeremy see?” Eggs asks. “Fuck, it’s not coming out! James you try.”

“Jeremy actually has an impressive radius for when a room over a thousand times his size becomes incomprehensible,” the doctor replies as he offers a hand for the pack of gum to be carefully dropped into. “I’m sorry we never took it into account before.”

“I-I-It's okay!” Jeremy reassures. “It’s still easy to walk th-th-through the restaurant a-a-and d-down the street. I can tell wh-when someone’s across the room, I just c-c-can't make out details.”

“Huh,” Eggs muses as he folds his arms over the table. That’s when Jeremy realizes the mechanic is no longer distracted, James now carefully messing with the pack of gum he willingly sacrificed for their curiosity. Meaning he’s now the center of attention for a curious and unoccupied giant that can pick him up with two fingers. “Does that mean-?”

“Hey, sorry for the wait!”

As an unfamiliar giant appears at the end of the table, followed by a heavy thump that travels through his chair as something is placed on the table, Jeremy feels his entire body tense as he prepares to run. Because there’s a stranger looming above that can easily grab him, or brush him off the table, or crush him-

“Vanilla with caramel syrup for Eggs, strawberry for James doing the world’s smallest puzzle-”

“Taking a stick of gum out of a pack.”

“-tell me how well that works out for you, fries for Mike, and what was your name?”

Jeremy stares up at the semi familiar face. Remembers he saw her only a few minutes ago. The giant named Erin who promised she’d be able to give him a human sized chocolate shake. Who was careful as she set down everyone’s order, making sure not to reach directly over him and put something too close.

Who’s currently kneeling down so she can properly hear his answer.

“J-J-J-Jeremy,” he can’t help but stutter.

She only smiles. “Nice to meet you, Jeremy! I’m Erin if you didn’t hear before. Now would you like me to hand you your shake, or set it in the middle for you to grab? I can do either option, but I am a pro at serving human tables with multiple orders.”

Jeremy can’t help shaking his head at the second option. “I-I-In the middle, please.”

“You’ve got it,” Erin replies easily, seemingly pinching nothing as she moves her hand toward the middle of the table before removing it again to reveal a milkshake completely dwarfed by everything around it. “You four need anything else?”

“I’m good!”

“Water for Mike, please.”

“On it!”

The moment Erin walks away, Mike flips James off for the added order. “Fuck you, Snitches.”

Jeremy knows James replied, the air shaking like it always does whenever a giant is talking. But he doesn’t hear the words, unable to over the sound of Eggs pulling his shake closer as the glass scrapes against the table. Something that, if he did it with his own glass, he would barely notice the sound. But as it stands ten times his height, it’s all he can hear.

That’s not what has him frozen in complete terror. No, it’s the realization he agreed to eat with giants. Eat with someone who’s drink he can easily be dropped into and who’s fries he can be mistaken for.

He needs to leave before it’s too late.

“Here, Jerber.”

Jeremy nearly screams as a hand suddenly appears next to him, jerking away out of terror he’s about to be grabbed, ending up almost toppling off his chair. That's when another hand appears to keep him upright, leaving him trapped with nowhere to go.

...is that his milkshake?

In a daze, Jeremy reaches out to accept a glass that should’ve shattered the moment it was pinched between fingers powerful enough to crush him effortlessly. Yet he’s able to grab it to gently set it on his own table, the glass warm to the touch from being handled by not just one giant, but two. And there’s not a single drop of milkshake spilled over the side, not a hint of whipped creme missing, the cherry untouched from it’s spot on the very top.

He actually received a human sized milkshake made and carried by a giant.

“You good, Jer?” Eggs asks, offering a smile as Jeremy looks up at him. “You nearly fell out of your chair! Good thing I was here to save your life.”

Oh. He wasn’t being grabbed, he was being helped.

“Th-Th-Thanks,” comes out quietly, and directed at the milkshake he’s holding rather than the two he genuinely appreciates. Because now he doesn’t have to worry about being mistaken for a misplaced fry, or having to silently sit in pain after taking such a rough fall.

And yet he receives a cheerful “Anytime!” from Eggs, and a silent but gentle poke from Mike.

“Got it!” James suddenly announces, earning everyone’s attention as the doctor holds up something absolutely miniscule between his fingers. “Pay up, Benedict.”

“Hold on, show me how you did it!”

“It took a lot of maneuvering, and I’m pretty sure the stick is crushed beyond recognition,” the doctor replies. “But I didn’t hear any rules about it needing to be in perfect condition to count.”

“Mike that sounds like cheating!”

As the argument starts to sound more like thunder rather than actual words, Jeremy finds himself focusing back on his milkshake. The one that’s steadily growing colder to the touch as the ice cream easily overpowers his meager body heat compared to the previous giants who held it.

Carefully setting it down on his table, he hesitates once he realizes a straw or spoon hadn’t come with it. His eyes glance toward the middle of the table, a shiver racing up his spine as he spots the plate of fries several feet away. He quickly looks away to try and spot something miniscule on the ground, but he doesn’t see anything among the catastrophic limbs and massive dishes.

“Um-?”

“Hey don’t break it!”

“I’m not going to break it, you are!”

Jeremy quickly closes his mouth at the realization nothing he says will be heard over his coworkers, even if they are keeping their voices low. Which is something he should’ve expected since he is the only human out of the group, it was going to happen at some point where they would all talk together.

That’s slightly worrying, though. What if something was wrong and he needed to get their attention? Are they distracted enough that if someone knocked something over they wouldn’t pause their argument, or would they make sure the human sitting with them wasn’t hurt or in trouble? Have they completely forgotten about him?

“Just wait till PG hears about this,” Eggs grins, and Jeremy can’t help flinching as the giant's arm casts a shadow over him as something out of sight is reached for.

“Like Cawthon wouldn’t side with me,” James retorts as he accepts the offered straw from the mechanic.

And then Jeremy’s being offered one as he stares down the paper wrapping for something as tall as a building to him all the way up to Eggs’ expectant look. There’s a long moment as they watch each other, the human genuinely contemplating trying to accept the straw big enough to turn his entire milkshake into a single swallow before the giant blinks as realization sinks in.

“Well this won’t do at all!” the giant announces as he puts the straw down, turning toward the corner of the table Jeremy can’t see past the napkin dispenser. “Hold on, Jer, I think there’s mini napkins and straws back here.”

“Need help getting one?”

“Just because you managed to get a stick of gum doesn’t mean I can’t get a tiny straw!”

Jeremy straightens up at the reveal everything he could want was behind him the entire time. “I-I-I can get it-”

“You better not be doubting my skills either, Jer,” Eggs pouts as the giant’s brow furrows in concentration, making the human stay squarely in his seat to show he won’t be walking across the table until explicit permission is given. “I might not be as good as James who clearly cheats by being a doctor-”

“You make it sound like I’m a surgeon.”

“Fuck, you’re not?”

“-but I can pick up tiny things I barely see, too!”

Jeremy finds himself a bit awed by the sentiment. That even though a human sized straw is just as small as the stick of gum Eggs failed to grab out of the pack earlier, the giant is willing to still try. Still wants to learn to interact with something so miniscule it can be blown away with a single breath.

He’ll admit, he’s fairly sure any straw he’s given will be crushed and completely unusable, but he’s happy to wait patiently until Eggs either gives up or relents having a giant retrieve such a small and delicate thing isn’t the best idea. But it’s the thought that counts.

“While Benedict works hard at losing yet another bet,” James begins as he dips a fry into his shake. “How have you been liking Fazbear’s, Fitzgerald?”

Jeremy finds himself jolting at the question before going completely still as he’s forced to remember this morning Remember just how close he had been to losing. That if it was just a few more seconds, he wouldn’t be watching whip cream slowly melting into a milkshake waiting for him to eat it. And he has to do it again tonight or else risk getting fired for not showing up, or at the very least have his already meager paycheck missing a substantial amount of money he needs to pay his rent this month.

“It’s okay,” comes out much softer than he intended.

Suddenly, he sees movement out of the corner of his eye, making him look up before he squeaks at the sight of a fry being carefully placed on his table. It’s not a whole fry, just a small piece that’s been torn off, but it’s bigger than his arm and he swears it melts his milkshake just a little more as warm steam rises from it.

Slightly confused, he follows the fingers up to Mike watching him closely. “Bad night?”

Yes. A very bad one.

“Oh I hate those,” Eggs chimes in with a groan. “The ones where everything goes wrong, and you’re apparently too slow even though you’re doing it all exactly how you did it yesterday.”

Jeremy straightens up slightly, hopefully. “Y-You get them t-t-too?”

“We all do, fucker,” Mike replies with a shrug, one that effectively shrugs off the weight sitting on Jeremy’s own shoulders. “Comes with the job. Sometimes the assholes are quicker than usual because someone fucked with shit they shouldn’t have.”

“Remember when Fritz was told to increase everyone’s speeds?” the mechanic asks as he pauses his attempt to get a straw, leaning over the table as he props his cheek on a fist. “He was so confused and tried to ask why, but the manager said ‘don’t ask, just do’, and that was when Mike almost got fired for damaging the animatronics!”

Someone can increase their speed?

“I’m sorry, why did you damage the animatronics?” James asks, sounding both confused and amused, as if he doesn’t realize just how terrifying the idea of them getting quicker is.

“The fuckers were asking for it.”

“I second that, every animatronic deserves a metal pipe to the face!”

Jeremy slightly disagrees. Despite the fact they actively try to murder him every night, he doesn’t think they deserve to be damaged. Locked on stage all night, have their speed turned down, maybe put a lock on Marionette’s box so he can’t come out, that he agrees with. It would just make things more fair in his opinion, especially because he’s fairly sure the music box doesn’t actually wind up properly whenever he stands on the button, always having a heart stopping delay the times where he reaches it right at the last second.

But he can’t say he blames Mike for taking a more violent approach after it sounded like he almost lost the game himself. Almost lost, and had to defend himself using whatever he could find on hand.

...wait a minute. “You f-f-f-fought them?”

“And won,” Mike smiles, clearly proud of such an accomplishment, and Jeremy can’t help but agree. “Fazfuck was pissed for the rest of the goddamn week, and they hid everything they thought could be used as a weapon.”

“That’s why you greeted me with a vacuum one morning?” James asks.

“Purple was talking shit.”

The doctor’s expression morphs into confusion as he glances over at Eggs and Jeremy, as if waiting for someone to explain what Mike meant. When he only receives two nods, one thoughtful and one empathetic, he turns to Mike with genuine curiosity. “I think I’d like to sit with you on one of your shifts.”

“No you don’t,” Eggs and Jeremy say together, though one is spoken with amusement while the other is out of genuine concern for the doctor having no idea what he’d be getting himself into.

“Trust me, James, leave the nightshift to the professionals,” the mechanic continues before turning back to the straws. “We don’t need some doctor distracting us from our work, right Jer?”

Jeremy stares up at the giant with wide eyes, unsure how to respond. Not when he was just named as a professional when it comes to the night shift. Even though he’s never had a job previous to this. Never was taught how to be a security guard before coming to Fazbear’s. And he nearly lost after only a month.

Although, apparently that’s something even Mike has faced, the man who trained Jeremy and knew every tip and trick to surviving having bad enough nights where he had to resort to fighting the animatronics. But Jeremy wouldn’t be able to fight even if he was able to find the will power to do such a thing. Even if he tried to run, to hide, he’d be found and grabbed in seconds.

He doesn’t deserve the title of ‘professional’. Not when he was mistakenly hired. Not when Scott hadn’t realized he gave the position to a human until it was too late.

“I don’t th-th-think I’d do better th-than J-J-James,” he quietly admits. And to be honest, the doctor might actually be better at surviving the night than he could ever be.

Eggs pauses midbite on a fry that seemingly appeared in his grasp. “That’s not what Mike told us.”

“He wouldn’t stop talking about how well you handled your first day,” James chimes in. “He said it was like you’ve done it before.”

Mike said that? He talked about Jeremy and how well he handled his first shift? Even when he was almost too scared to move, took too long to figure out how to turn on a flashlight as big as a bus, and had to jump on the buttons of the tablet just to select another camera only to scream and trip over his own feet when the screen showed nothing but the haunting eyes of an animatronic?

The man who the animatronics were genuinely afraid of thought Jeremy deserved to be praised for his first shift? To coworkers he was yet to meet and who might not’ve even had him as a coworker by the end of the week?

A finger gently poking him to earn his attention as Mike smirks down at him says yes. “I was so fucking happy Phone Guy finally found someone to watch the second location. They could finally stop bitching at me every time I did a shift there and ruin everyone’s goddamn week.”

Jeremy looks down at his hands as he wrings them together in shame. “E-Even if I almost l-l-lost today?”

He flinches at his own words, because the last thing he wants to do is tell Mike he was wrong and make him regret ever taking the time and effort to train Jeremy. Because now that the giant knows Jeremy wasn’t worth it, made everyone waste their time and hope on him...he’s going to lose the one person in his life who genuinely thinks he’s good at something else other than always messing everything up.

But Mike deserves to know. Deserves to be told he was tricked into thinking someone like Jeremy, a human working a job meant for a giant, was ever good enough to be relied on, none the less praised.

“Jerber,” rumbles above him like an omen. “You’re goddamn tiny.”

Jeremy lifts his head up to meet Mike’s gaze, admittedly thrown off by how serious the giant looks. As if he’s revealing something that was a closely guarded secret rather than an obvious observation. “Um, y-yeah?”

The giant gives a hard stare. “It’s badass as hell.”

Oh, oh. It's a compliment. A compliment, as well as a reveal that even though Jeremy feels like a frightened mouse blindly running around a desk every night, Mike doesn’t see it that way. He just sees how much work is put into reacting to everything that happens during a shift, the effort required just to turn on a flashlight and wind a music box.

...oh. Maybe he has earned a little credit.

“We’ve actually been really curious,” Eggs muses. “Have you worked at a giant only location before? Because you seem to know how to get around really well.”

Jeremy curls into himself at something that couldn’t be further from the truth. He’ll take the compliment from Mike who’s actually seen him working a shift, but Eggs has only met him a handful of times before this, and none of them have seen just how bad he is when he’s on the floor while multiple giants are walking around. Only Fritz has been around to rescue him off the ground when he’s gotten a little too close to being stepped on, but it sounds like the younger giant isn’t one to spread rumors. “This is my f-f-first job.”

“Shit-”

“Wait-”

“Hold on-” is all spoken at once as all three giants become a collective booming overhead, making Jeremy’s shoulders hitch up in a poor attempt to cover his ears.

And then Eggs is suddenly leaning down, getting so close Jeremy squeaks as he curls up in his chair as the giant’s nose stops only an arm’s length away. “First job as in ever? How old are you?”

“E-E-Eighteen,” is answered before he can think it over, slightly worried why his original answer had received such a response and hoping the quicker he answers this question, the quicker such a massive being to gives him a bit more space.

Instead, eyes bigger than his head widen as Eggs’ mouth drops open slightly. Then the giant is shoved away a few inches so James can lean in as the doctor’s eyes narrow. “Dude he’s a baby!”

“Correct term is teenager,” James replies before Jeremy can protest and say he’s a young adult. One who pays his own bills and survives against murderous animatronics, meaning he’s neither a baby nor a teenager. “I assumed he was young, but I hadn’t realized he was barely older than Smith.”

Jeremy turns to climb out of his chair opposite of the giants much too close for comfort as every word makes his hair ruffle. He becomes frozen in place when he’s greeted by none other than Mike leaning in as well, the giant he’s most familiar with and has been the most respectful of his space so close the brim of his hat blocks out the overhead lights.

“Well I can’t see shit,” Eggs announces with a pout. “Can we pass you around for sec, Jer?”

A shiver of fear races up his spine. “P-P-P-Pass me around?”

“Benedict means to ask if you would mind if we each held you for a moment,” James clarifies with a small smile, though it’s much too close for comfort. “We just want a closer look at you.”

“My bet is that your eyes are blue.”

“I’m voting hazel.”

They’re guessing his eye color? Why are they guessing, can’t they see-?

Jeremy freezes as it finally clicks. That even though it’s easy for him to see Eggs’ blue eyes and his Cheshire grin, or James’ brown eyes and his soft expressions, or Mike’s blue eyes and his small smirks, they’ve never had the chance to get a proper look at him. That’s why they’re so close, because they want to see him.

“...will you be c-careful?” he attempts to ask sternly, but it comes out more like a plea.

Eggs immediately leans back slightly as he nods. “Pinky promise!”

“Scout’s honor.”

“Promise.”

Jeremy slowly nods his own head. “O-O-Okay.”

He didn’t know what to expect, but considering he gave explicit permission to be held, he should’ve realized he was going to be grabbed. Yet as everyone leans back and he’s greeted by the sight of pinching fingers, he doesn’t realize they’re meant for him until they’re locking around his chest.

He doesn’t get a chance to ask for a more secure hold before he’s being lifted up, his stomach left far behind as he watches the ground shrink beneath his dangling legs, vertigo making his head spin as he curls into himself as he pleads not to be dropped please don’t drop him.

“You’re tiny, Jer,” makes Jeremy’s eyes snap up to meet Eggs’, squeaking when all he can see is a single blue orb as a pupil contracts and makes the color explode in front of him. “I think you’re a little smaller than my thumb.”

The human blinks at the comparison before glancing down at his own thumb. Feels his heart skip a beat as he sees just how much his other fingers tower over it. How he can easily hold his hand around it to lock it inside a fist.

That’s when his eyes skate over Eggs’ own thumb pressed against his side, the fingerprint bigger than his entire hand. “O-Oh.”

The eye in front of him crinkles slightly. “Have we put you in a pocket before?”

Jeremy quickly shakes his head. “I’d rather n-n-not.”

Even though he can’t see it happen, he feels Eggs shrugs, unable to breathe for a good moment at the feeling of falling for a brief moment. “I think I’d like to try out a pocket. Sounds like a great place to take a nap.”

“Schmidt and I will let you try ours if you’re ever pocketable,” James says somewhere to his left. “So who guessed his eye color right?”

“They’re like a dull blue,” Eggs murmurs as his eyes narrow. “I think I need a second opinion, though.”

...couldn’t they have just asked what his eye color is?

Jeremy opens his mouth to offer an answer, only for his voice to be stolen as the fingers around his chest tighten before he’s being moved through the air, the quick movement making his stomach twist and his limbs feel like they’re being pulled by gravity. He can only try and curl up into a ball, his arms covering his head as he waits for everything to stop.

When it does, he’s suddenly let go, screaming as he falls onto something warm and alive.

“You alright, Jeremy?” James’ voice rumbles above in time with the ground shaking, something he’s all too familiar with from sitting in Mike’s hand as he talks.

Quickly sitting up, Jeremy looks over at Eggs watching with fascination from where he sits several feet away, both of his hands empty as they wrap around his shake. Realizes when they asked to pass him around, they meant it literally.

And now he’s being held by a doctor.

“I-I-I'm fine!” Jeremy reassures as he turns toward James hovering directly above him. Fearful glances are sent toward the fingers surrounding him that can close at any second, or at the very least pin him down so it’s easier to check him over for injuries. “I was just s-surprised!”

A smile appears. “I believe you when you say you’re uninjured. It’s Schmidt who I pin down to make sure he isn’t secretly bleeding out.”

“Fuck you, Snitches.”

Jeremy doesn’t ask just how true such a statement is, not really wanting to know just how many times Mike has apparently almost bled out. Without a question to answer, however, James takes it as permission to have his own turn figuring out Jeremy’s eye color. Makes the human tense as a thumb suddenly settles over his chest before he’s lifted directly in front of the giant’s eyes as they almost cross.

“How tall are you?”

Jeremy hesitates, admittedly caught off guard. “F-F-Five f-foot ten.”

“Holy shit you’re taller than Fritz!”

“I am?” he asks in disbelief.

“You’d actually have quite a few inches on him,” the doctor smiles, the expression slightly visible from where Jeremy’s held, clearly amused by the revelation of a human technically being taller than a giant. “You’re actually the same height as Benedict and Schmidt, so next time you see them standing next to Smith, you’ll get a good visual.”

“Oh we’re definitely showing Jeremy later.”

“Can we shrink the asshole instead?”

He would rather not have Fritz shrunken just so they can compare how tall they are to each other. He can only imagine how terrifying it would be for the younger, and if the others are grabby with Jeremy then they would be just as if not more with someone they’re more familiar with and who isn’t the type of person too polite to tell others no.

But it will never happen, just like how he will never grow to properly sit at his desk while working the nightshift.

“Just don’t shrink anyone without Cawthon’s permission,” and now Jeremy’s genuinely concerned he might be greeting Fritz on the same scale next week.

Suddenly, the hand he’s sitting in curls around him, a squeak escaping out of fear he’s about to be locked in a fist as it starts to move. He shoves at the thumb on his chest, sighing in relief as it immediately lifts away, letting him sit up to try and see between the fingers and know where he’s being taken.

After a few seconds, the hand opens to reveal Mike smirking down at him. “Was that a little better, Jeremy? Less feeling like you’ll fall?”

Turning around, his eyes widen at James’ worried look. “Oh, yeah, th-thank you.”

“Woah, hey, is James one uping my holding technique!”

“I don’t think yours can be considered a technique.”

Jeremy quickly stands up to walk across James’ fingers into Mike’s waiting hand, his heart pounding at the thought of the doctor and mechanic getting into a heated debate while he’s still in the former’s grasp.

“We’re shrinking James to prove my technique!”

“We could just ask Fritzgerald.”

“We’re shrinking James!”

Jeremy screams as he trips while stepping into Mike’s hand, curling into a ball as his heart skips a beat thinking he’s going to fall no one will be able to catch him he’s going to fall.

He doesn’t meet the unforgiving table waiting below, instead tumbling right into the middle of the waiting hand. One that immediately turns against him the moment he slides to a stop, fingers curling around him as a thumb pins his chest. Then he’s being lifted up directly in front of Mike’s searching gaze as he reminded he shouldn’t have been worried about James being adamant on checking him for injuries.

He holds his breath as he’s lifted inches away from Mike’s face as the giant looks him over. “They’re grey.”

“Damn it!”

“That’s considered hazel!”

Jeremy winces as he’s lifted up as the giant shrugs. “I think they were both goddamn wrong. What do you think, Jerber?”

The human looks down at the fist surrounding him. Looks back at the towering being that could easily drop or crush him. Hears the other two waiting patiently for his response. He can’t seem to find any words, but he nods in agreement, earning a smirk from Mike as Eggs and James groan somewhere behind him.

Suddenly, the hand opens as he lands in the palm in a heap. His first attempt to sit up is foiled by a finger nudging his arm before poking at his leg as he instinctively pulls them close. And then one is gently brushing over his hair.

“H-H-Hey!” Jeremy snaps as he shields his head with one arm, the other batting at the retreating digit. “No touching my h-hair!”

“Sorry, Jerber,” Mike chuckles. “It’s so goddamn soft, though.”

“Because I spend f-f-forever taking care of it,” he scolds. Once there’s no more fingers threatening to touch his precious curls, he carefully brushes them back into their proper places. “You can ruffle Fritz’s hair.”

The giant brightens. “Deal.”

Jeremy squeaks as the hand suddenly drops, quickly grabbing onto the nearest finger to make sure he doesn’t get thrown over the side of the hand. When it stops, he’s greeted with the sight of his milkshake waiting for him, along with the fry he was given earlier and a straw his own size sitting directly beside it.

His eyes snap up to Eggs to see the mechanic pouting. “James helped me get you one.”

“Th-Th-Thank you!” is directed to both giants as he excitedly climbs out of Mike’s hand. Because he came all this way for the promised treat, and he’ll finally be able to eat it. Not that he minded waiting, but he has definitely earned it.

“So when are we shrinking Fritz?”

Jeremy ignores the conversation rumbling above him, taking his seat before inspecting the straw to see if it got crushed at any point. Aside from a slight bend, it looks completely unharmed. He could take the opportunity to quickly grab one himself from the corner, but he wouldn’t want to take away all the effort spent to get him one straw. Effort that was made even though they could have made him retrieve one himself.

Placing it in the middle of the melted shake, the moment he takes a sip is the moment he doesn’t think he can stop.

“Hey Jer, have you heard about The Restless And The Immortal?”

Jeremy shakes his head without pausing his mission to make the greatest milkshake he’s ever tasted vanish as quickly as possible.

“Okay, so! There’s this vampire named Vlad, and-!”

He watches as Mike puts a fry into James milkshake for the doctor to eat before passing a fry to Eggs for the mechanic to eat between words. The giant glances toward the one still sitting on Jeremy’s table before eating one himself.

No one tires to interrupt Eggs’ spiel of the soap opera despite being up to date already, and Jeremy finds himself becoming invested.

It’s nice. Even though Eggs’ arm waving makes him flinch every now and then. Even as the entire table shakes as Mike beats James in an arm wrestle that lasts all of one second. Even as the diner starts to get too loud for his ears as more giants come in as they bang dishes together and speak in loud volume.

Maybe he’ll be able to hear what happens next when he joins the three next week.

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#bte writing