Work Text:
Jeremy was doing work as usual, the ebony haired man currently cleaning out Chica the Chicken.
‘Kids must’ve tried to feed her again.’ He thinks, letting out a dry chuckle as the scent of pizza sauce fills his nose, the once yellow animatronic having had stains on it for years. Try as he might, Fitzgerald could never get the stains off of her, the man’s boss always complaining up a storm about how often he has to replace the chicken’s suit.
“I don’t get why Henry even made that one of her voice lines, believe me, Fitzgerald, I tried to get him not to. It’s just begging for kids to sneak up on stage and get her dirty!”
William would say, the mascots pre-recorded “Boy, I sure am hungry!” suddenly making Afton lose his train of thought.
Jeremy is taken out of the memory, the man letting out a sigh. He opens up the robot’s stomach cavity, Jeremy’s good mood leaving as he stares at what’s inside. What he thought was the smell of rotting pizza was something much much worse.
A corpse is stuffed inside the robot.
Jeremy feels sick at the mere sight of the body, the mechanic eventually leaving the parts and service room in a panic. The man’s runs as fast as he can to get to a phone, suddenly bumping into his boss.
“Mr. Fitzgerald! Just the man I needed to see! Come with me to the office, would you? I-“ “Not now, Will, I need to get to a phone, the- there’s- Chica, there’s a-“
Scarred hands are suddenly put on his shoulder, Afton forcing the mechanic to turn back around, the two now heading back to the Parts and Service room.
“I’m sure whatever’s wrong with her can be fixed easily. I’m surprised, Jeremy, you haven’t needed my help with repairing a member of the band in a while! Why, it feels like just yesterday we were at the diner together, doesn’t it? Funny how fast time flies by.“
He stops the second they go into the room, the brunette shutting the door to the room.
Jeremy tenses up as he hears the lock click, William putting the keys back into his pocket.
“Clean it out, Jeremy.”
Jeremy stops, the man baffled, clearly not believing what he’s hearing.
“B-… but, William, I-“
“That’s Mr Afton to you, Jeremy.”
“G-God damn it, William! This- This isn’t the time for formalities, can’t you see!? That’s a- there’s a- a-“
“A corpse, I’m well aware.”
Silence.
Silence fills the room.
None of them speak, none of them move, the smell of death hanging in the air.
Sweat drips down both of them, the room quickly getting hot thanks to the lack of ventilation in it.
“Will, I don’t think I heard you right.”
Jeremy whispers, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife.
“Mind repeating yourself?”
Silence slowly seeps back into the room, William breaking it rather suddenly, his laughter echoing throughout the room.
“It’s a corpse, Jeremy! Blonde one, little girl, blue eyes.”
“Wh-“
“Susie Dimitri. She was turning eight years old, her parents couldn’t bother watching her.”
Afton says, the brunette clearly struggling not to laugh again. “I led her back into the safe room, you know the one where you suit up in? The place with no cameras?”
Jeremy feels bile rise into his throat the more William talks, the older man grinning as he watches the other realize this isn’t some sick joke.
“Clean the suit out, Fitzgerald.”
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Jeremy doesn’t get any sleep that night.
Or the one after.
Or the one after that.
He never gets a good nights sleep again, images of Susie’s corpse constantly plaguing him, the mechanic waking up in a sweat, vomiting into the toilet until early in the morning.