Other Fan Fiction ❯ Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel! ❯ Chapter 3

Title:  Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel!
Part:  3/??
Author:  Murasaki Rose
Beta:  none
Genre:  AU/Romance/Adventure/Sci-Fi
Rating:  PG-13
Spoilers:  None that I know
Warnings:  Slash~i.e. male x male pairings, swearing, suggestive language and humor
Pairings:  Golden Freddy x Phone Guy
Minor Pairings:  Foxy x Chica, Toy Bonnie x Mangle, Toy Freddy x Toy Chica
Disclaimer:  Here we go...Five Nights at Freddy's and all related characters are the property/creation of Scott Cawthon.   In other words, they aren't mine and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.

Summary:  After being chosen as the new general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous employees, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?

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"Hello, hello!"

"Hello, hello Paul!  How are things going?"

"Still going great!" the red head gushed, grinning back at the holo-image of his older brother Scott.  Despite having the same parents, the two brothers looked vastly different, having nothing physically in common other than their brown eyes and nearly-identical voices.  Scott had dark brown hair and pale skin while Paul was red-headed and tan, their father had red hair and pale skin and had told the boys their "mother" was tan and dark haired.  Still, people who didn't know them assumed they were cousins or came from different surrogates.

"You're starting your third week aren't you?"

Excited, Paul gave an emphatic nod, "Yep!  The hotel's going to be hosting a big event this week-"

"Uncle Paul!" two cheerful voices interrupted, their small forms crowding in front of the holo camera.

"Hey boys!" the red head greeted, laughing as his brother pulled his sons away from the camera to sit on either side of him.

Ruffling their hair, Scott shooed them out of the room.  "Go put your school things away, then you can bug your uncle."  Grumbling, the boys complied, scampering from the room to do as they had been told.

"Feeling homesick yet?" the brunet asked once the boys had left.

His younger sibling shook his head, "and before you ask; no, I'm not feeling overwhelmed yet either."

"All right, all right." Scott chuckled and shook his head, "How about you tell me what you've been up to with your new friends then?"

Paul's face immediately brightened and he began to talk about what had happened on game night.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Well hello there."

Unprepared for the sultry tone in such an ordinary greeting, Paul froze on the spot.  He hated it when this happened, it always made him feel so awkward!  Accepting the inevitable, he turned to greet the guest and had to bite back a startled yip.  Standing uncomfortably close, a beautiful, blue-skinned humanoid was perusing his form from head to toe, her orange eyes gleaming with delight.

"Ah, hello, hello!" he greeted, taking a step back to put a respectable distance between them.  "I'm Paul Cawthon-"

"-the new General Manager," she finished, her smile widening when he blinked and made the cutest confused expression.  She stepped up close to him again, "You're the talk of the town."

Paul felt his face heat up in a blush, "I-I'm ah, not really that interesting miss."

"Oh I beg to differ," she reached up a hand, intending to brush an errant strand of hair behind his ear-

"Why Miss Erobern, how good to see you again."

Relief flooded through Paul like a tidal wave as Golden pulled him away from the "friendly" woman just before her hand made contact.  He could feel the tension ebbing from his frame as the warmth from Golden's seeped through and unconsciously moved closer to the taller male.

'How interesting!' Erobern thought, noticing the bear's possessive posture and the comfort the human was taking from it.  "Why hello again Mr. Fazbear.  It's a pleasure to see you again as well."  She replied, watching with amusement as Golden stepped even closer to the red-head.

Paul's tablet suddenly let out a loud beep, breaking the silent stand-off between Golden and Erobern.  Checking the message, the red-head saw it was an urgent call from the front desk.  "I'm sorry, that was the front desk, Asagi needs me as soon as possible."  He gave the woman a short bow, but Golden received a warm, apologetic smile.  "I'll ah, catch you later."

Golden nodded and smiled back, waiting until he was out of sight before turning his attention back to Erobern.

"Stay away from him," he growled, aqua eyes glaring down at the blue-skinned woman.  "He's not for you to play with."

Laughing merrily, Erobern gave him a wry smile, "All right, all right, I've learned my lesson about Tierans...I'll leave him alone."  When Golden opened his mouth to correct her, she stopped him cold with her next statement.  "Even I can tell you've claimed that lovely human as yours...and he doesn't seem to mind one bit."

Remembering what she had learned about Tieran mating practices after her disastrous attempt at seducing the bear the previous year along with what she had just witnessed between the two of them, she knew she was right even without Golden's gob smacked expression to confirm it.  Yes, the pretty human was definitely off limits to her and anyone else, but he was in good hands.  Still, she did wish she'd met the man before Golden had!  Fighting off the urge to pout, she decided it was best to divulge some advice to the bear before he decided to leave.

"If you want him, you'd better keep a close eye on him," she warned, her expression now serious.  "Someone as handsome and sweet-natured as he is will draw attention without even trying.  Coming from an endangered species you rarely see off their own territories just makes him more tempting."

Golden scowled, he was already worried about that, hearing it from someone that had just met the human only confirmed his fears.  Though trusting and a bit naive, Paul was clever and capable, unfortunately there were a lot of unscrupulous people who could and would simply overpower him to get what they wanted.

A sudden slap to the back sent him staggering, jolting him from his dark thoughts as a cheerful voice spoke.

"Good thing we've got the best security on the planet here, outside of the government of course, and our friends are keeping an eye on him when he leaves the hotel." Spring reassured them, making a point to look Golden in the eyes as he said the last part.  The last thing they needed was for the bear to go feral out of worry.

"That's good.  I'd hate to see that sweet man get taken advantage of."

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By the start of his third week, the staff had noticed something a bit unusual about their new General Manager's behavior.  The human rarely took the same path twice to go anywhere around the hotel.  Tired of hearing the staff gossip, a few of the supervisors finally asked the human about his odd behavior and were pleasantly amused by his response.  "Oh that!  Well, the hotel is so big I ah, thought it would help me in a couple of areas.  It uh, helps me learn where everything is and of course, learn a few new ways to get places.  I've even found some spots that weren't on my initial tour so.."

Then he laughed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, a wry grin on his face.  This unintentionally adorable behavior had made the older ladies coo and pat his cheeks, which of course, embarrassed the hell out of him and entertained the men until Golden materialized out of nowhere to rescue him.

Keeping with his pattern of exploration, today's route had brought him by the large pool favored by guests that brought their children.  It was a beautiful day and the poolside was busy, as quite a few families were taking advantage of the good weather.  The ambient noise was distracting, but welcome as the chatter and screams were happy ones as Paul weaved his way amongst the guests, using his lithe form to his advantage, greeting adult and child alike with a smile.  His winding path eventually taking him near the edge of the pool where the shrill of the life guard's whistle brought him to a stop.  The otter's cry of "No running!" the only warning he had before two small forms collided with him, sending them all tumbling into the pool.

Blinking against the treated water, Paul spotted two small forms floating nearby and after orienting himself, pulled all three of them to the surface just as the life guard popped up next to them.  With the otter's help, he handed the slightly dazed children up to their very grateful mother.

"You next sir."

"Thank you, I-" Paul suddenly cut himself off and groaned.  "Oh no!  My tablet's still down there!"

"If you think you can manage getting out on your own, I'll get it," the life guard offered.

"That would be great thank you."  Heaving himself out of the pool, the slim human got to his feet and began wringing the worst of the water from his shirt.

"Here you go sir."

"Thank you."  Crouching down to retrieve it, he was surprised when a warm, fluffy towel dropped around his shoulders.   Standing back up, he turned and found Golden standing behind him, a concerned look on his face.

"Are you all right?"

Paul smiled up at the bear, "I'm fine."  Using the edge of the towel, he dried the tablet off, grinning as it flickered back to life.  "And so is this!   I'll have to let the I.T. know this model worked as advertised."   Noticing Golden' confused expression, he explained.  "Rolfe asked him to find a model that could survive being submerged....something to do with an incident in the kitchen?"  He shook his head, "Anyway, this is the first one to get some on-the-job testing."

The bear chuckled, remembering what had spurred this particular request; it had happened the year before he took over as owner while he was shadowing his father.  One day Rolfe had run past them in a complete tizzy, carrying something wrapped in a bundle of kitchen towels.  They found out later that Rolfe had been bumped into by a new cook and the wolf's tablet had taken a dive straight into a boiling pot of sauce.  Despite the speed it had been fished out, the combination of liquid and heat had rendered the device useless, costing Rolfe hours of work.

His thoughts returning to the present, he smiled down at Paul.  A strand of the human's dripping wet hair was stuck to his nose, tempting Golden to brush it away.  The red-head shivered suddenly and pulled the towel closer, "I'd ah, better go get changed.  Wouldn't want to catch a cold, huh?"

Golden nodded and walked the human through the crowded pool area, doubly glad he'd picked one of the largest towels.  If asked, he'd have to admit his original motivation had been jealousy.  While the bear was admiring Paul's rear as the wet fabric from his slacks and boxers clung to his backside like a second skin, he'd realized that other people could and were seeing it too.  Without further thought, he grabbed a towel he knew would be large enough that it would cover Paul well past his butt and draped it over him as soon as he was close enough to do so.

Unable to help himself, the bear suddenly gripped the edge of the towel and pulled it over Paul's head, rubbing his hair with the soft fabric until the human managed to squirm away.  Pulling it back down, Paul glared at him but it lacked any fire and looked more like an angry pout.  "No fair," he grumbled, looking far too cute with his flushed cheeks and frazzled hair.

Golden laughed and hugged him around the shoulders with one arm.  "Sorry Paul.  I'm sure you'll get your chance to pay me back sometime."

Paul smirked up at him, surprising the bear.  "I'm sure I will."

A slow grin came over Golden's muzzle and a pleasant shiver went down his spine as he looked down at the lithe-framed man, wasn't his human just full of surprises?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Dozens of staff members were running about the huge ballroom, setting up the room for a major event the hotel was hosting that evening.  Checking in with the supervisors and making sure things were being completed on schedule, Paul had been running all over the hotel, fitting progress checks in-between his daily duties.  Pulling out his stylus to jot down a couple notes, Paul sighed when he fumbled and dropped it to his feet.  Bending at the waist to retrieve it, he'd just gotten hold of it when a large, warm palm curved around his butt sending him bolting upright with a yelp.

A myriad of thoughts whirled through Golden's head as he stared at the pert backside unexpectedly presented to his gaze once again.  'I wonder if it's as firm as it looks?' and 'Yes it is.' were the only two that registered just as Paul's startled yelp jolted him out of his daze.  Horrified, the bear knew instantly what he had done in his distraction and began to blush hard enough it could be seen through his fur.  Standing next to him, spine ramrod straight, Paul's face rivaled his hair as the two stared at the assembled staff with growing horror.  Unable to think of anything else, Golden moved his errant hand from Paul's rear to his waist before dragging the too-quiet human away from the crowd and into the nearest empty room.  Once the door closed behind them, he relinquished his hold on the red-faced human, absently noting that Paul only took a couple steps away.  Lost in their thoughts, neither man knew what to say...

His mind in turmoil, Paul struggled to figure out why Golden of all people had groped him and more importantly, why wasn't he bothered by that?

He'd recognized Golden's familiar presence so quickly it had stifled his usual response and left him with a much more confusing one that froze him in place.  Even as more and more staff turned to look at them, Paul had still felt an almost overwhelming urge to nestle into the offending hand.  If anyone else had touched him in such a personal manner, he'd have punched them in the face without hesitation, courtesy be damned.  It wouldn't be the first time he'd done so....but for some reason Golden seemed to be the exception.

In fact over the last three weeks, the bear had constantly been invading his personal space; taking every opportunity to ruffle his hair, pat him on the back, or even drape an arm around his shoulders.  It was incredibly inappropriate behavior for an owner to do with any employee, but until now, Paul had never given it a thought.  If anything, he enjoyed the bear's audacious behavior and over-protective looming, and welcomed him being so close.  Being around Golden always gave him a warm feeling and every touch sent butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

Paul's face, which had returned to its normal color, suddenly lit up again as the human came to a startling realization.

Brown eyes wide, he stared up at the embarrassed bear, his mouth dropping open in surprise...oh.  Ohhhhh...  That was why....he liked him.  He liked Golden Fazbear more than as a friend.

"Paul?"  Worried that the human was getting upset again, Golden wrapped him in his arms, burying his muzzle in his vibrant locks.  "I'm sorry."   The words seemed woefully inadequate but he meant them with all his heart.  He hadn't intended to cause the man so much distress.

Trapped against Golden's warm body, Paul felt himself beginning to relax and after a moment of consideration, hesitantly wrapped his arms around the bear's waist and laid his head on his chest.  Taking a shaky breath, he murmured softly, "J-just, uh, just don't do that in public again...please?"

Golden almost sagged in relief, he hadn't ruined everything!  "I won't, I promise," he agreed just as Paul's wording sunk in.  'Did he-?'   Deciding he couldn't embarrass himself much more than he already had, he went for it.  "Does that mean I can grope you when we're alone?"

Paul made a quiet 'Eeep!' and ducked his head nervously when he realized that Golden had caught on to his Freudian slip.  His breath catching in his throat as Golden's paws slid down his back, clearly the cheeky bear had taken his silence as a yes and wanted to test his boundaries.

Gently cupping Paul's butt, Golden smiled down at the lithe human.  His cheeks had lit up again and he was gripping Golden's shirt in his fists, but he wasn't protesting.  Unable to resist, he gave the firm globes a squeeze, getting a startled squeak in response.  Feeling confident, the bear threw one more surprise at the human, "May I court you?"

Shocked brown eyes locked onto content aqua as Paul's head shot up, "Wh-what?"  Had Golden really just asked..?

"I'd like to court you," the bear repeated, a gentle smile on his face.

Paul's blush returned with a vengeance, spreading across his entire face and down his neck.  "I-I can't give you an answer now," he looked away.  "What if I have to leave?"  There was still a full week left before the final decision would be made.

Still smiling, Golden cupped Paul's chin and turned his face until their eyes met again, "Don't underestimate yourself.  Rolfe and I picked you out of all the candidates for a reason."

Reluctantly, he released the human who backed away slowly as though he didn't want to let go.  "But if you prefer, I can wait until next week for your answer."

Nodding, Paul gave a little sigh, "I-I'd uh, better get back to w-work."   Heading for the door, he turned back and gave Golden a shy smile, "I'll ah, see you later right?"

The bear smirked and winked at the red-head, "Of course."

Cheeks lighting up again, Paul nodded and smiled before darting out the door.

Chuckling, Golden headed for his office, a pleased grin on his face.  His fears at having ruined his chances now put to rest.  Paul was definitely receptive to the idea of courting.  He'd give him some time to himself and get some of his own work done as well before he returned to stalking his human.

He couldn't wait for next week.

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Throwing himself back into his work, Paul managed to calm his frazzled nerves by the end of the day.

At first the occasional giggle or snicker from the younger staff members had sent him blushing and stuttering mid-sentence but the teasing quickly dropped off as the event neared.  There was too much work to do for anyone to focus on anything but their job.

All their hard work paid off as the event went without a hitch and Paul even received an unexpected compliment from their client.  He'd been holding events at the hotel for years and when commenting to one of the managers that Rolfe had done an excellent job as usual, was told that there was a new general manager.  Stunned, he'd asked to meet Paul and gave the human a hearty handshake while congratulating him on a job well done.  Paul had been quick to say that is was really due to all the hard work of the rest of the staff, which earned him a jovial slap on the back that sent him staggering.  As always, Golden was suddenly at his side, righting him with one arm while greeting their client with the other.  When he didn't remove his arm from the human's shoulders, Paul had been relieved both by Golden's behavior and his own reaction; simply being near the bear still made him feel warm and calm.

By the end of the day, an exhausted but happy Paul made his way back to the employee dorms, his mind going over the events of the morning.  While Golden's bold and inappropriate action had been embarrassing to no end, he found the revelations that came with it much more astounding.  Caught up in his contemplating the possibilities of dating the Tieran, Paul didn't notice the ladies gathered in the dorm lobby until they'd surrounded him.

He let out a squawk of surprise when his arm was grabbed and he was pulled into the lounge, then pushed to sit on one of the squishy couches next to the dorm manager, Mrs. Chouette.

"Are you all right dear?" she asked, giving him a motherly pat on his knee as one of the other ladies handed him a warm cup of tea.

"I ah, yes?"  Wide brown eyes blinked in confusion as he looked at the half-dozen or so Tieran women who were all giving him concerned looks of varying degrees.  "Wh-why do you ask?"

"We were worried-"

"I mean after what Mr. Fazbear did this morning-"

"That cub, honestly.  I ought to call his mother, I know she raised him better."

"O-oh!  Oh that!" he blushed bright red and rubbed the back of his head nervously.  "I-It's ah fine, r-really!"

"Fine!" the dorm manager huffed, "Owner or not, he shouldn't be pawing you."

Paul felt himself grow impossibly redder, "Well he did uh, apologize.... a-and he asked i-if he c-could court me..."

There was a long stunned silence before the ladies exploded into a flurry of questions.

"He did?!"

"So soon?  How bold of him!"

"Did you tell him no?!"  Around them the other ladies went quiet, waiting for his answer, Paul was human after all, he might not have understood how important that question was...

The red-head shook his head.  "N-no, I ah...told him I-I couldn't give him an answer y-yet."

"Why not?" the question was curious, not accusatory, and kept him from clamming up from nerves.

"W-well, I've uh, still got a week left before I even know if I've got the job.  I-I didn't think it would be right to start a relationship when I don't even know i-if I'll be staying."

Mrs. Chouette gave him an understanding smile, one of the things she'd liked about him from the start was his humble nature, not once had he assumed the job was his just because he was doing well and his desire to do his best and encourage others to do the same came naturally, not out of any need to impress.  He'd meshed in with the staff so well that the transition from Rolfe to Paul had been almost seamless. It was strange to consider that he'd only been there for three weeks and might not get to stay with them.  Not that she or anyone else thought he wouldn't get the job.

"But if you do get to stay with us?" one of the younger ladies asked.

Paul turned red and curled up a bit before giving a quick nod, to the delight of the ladies.

"Well then, perhaps it's time we gave you a crash course in Tieran courtship," the dorm manager suggested, "unless you've done some research on your own?"

"O-oh!"  He shook his head, "N-no, I ah didn't even r-realize how I felt about Golden until this morning..."

The women oohed and giggled at his admission.

"Paul, do you know why Golden has been following you these last three weeks?"

"No," he looked thoughtful, "But now that I think about it...does it have to do with him asking to court me?"

"Yes," Mrs. Chouette replied, gently smoothing back his hair and giving the human a motherly smile when he unconsciously relaxed under the gesture.  "When a dominate Tieran spots a potential mate, they will follow them around for a certain amount of time to determine if they want to court them.  There's no set length of time for this, it can last months or be as short as a few days.  It also allows the submissive a chance to get comfortable around them."  She smiled and the other ladies giggled when Paul turned brick red and squeaked at the word "submissive" but didn't protest.  "Tierans don't court lightly.  We mate for life and are quite choosy about those we court."

Paul's brown eyes grew wide as the full implications of Golden's question hit him.  The gold bear had seen something in him, Paul didn't know what, that made him think he was mate material.  "Oh boy."

"Are you still okay with that?" one of the younger women asked.

The red head nodded rapidly, "Yes, I uh, didn't date a lot before because I-I've been looking for a long-term relationship myself."  He shook his head, "It's uh, just a bit ah, overwhelming that he wants one with me, let alone one that could potentially be for life.  I can hardly remember the last time I was asked out by someone who wanted more than a quick fling."

"Well, that's nothing you have to worry about here," Mrs. Chouette reassured the human, taking his hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.  "Now, we know you don't have a mother or sister...so we've decided to adopt you as our son."

"Or little brother!" one of the younger ladies added.

Paul blushed and gave the women a shy, happy smile.  Like most humans, he'd never had a mother or sisters...now he had an entire group of them.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Golden let out a snort as Spring let himself into his office without even knocking, the rabbit rolling his eyes in response.

"Any word back on those reviews?"

Spring nodded, his relaxed posture telling Golden what his old friend was going to say before he even spoke, "Yep.  All the positive ones are genuine."

"And the others?"

Silver eyes narrowed, "Fake as hell and the supposed "complainants" are rather pissed about someone falsifying their reviews."

Golden scowled.  "Have you figured out who's responsible?"

"I'm pretty damn sure, just need to gather a bit more evidence before I hand it over to the Intergalactic Business Bureau and let them nail his ass to the wall."   Satisfied that the guilty party would be dealt with, the friends shared a dark smile.

Chuckling now, the rabbit headed towards the door, "Good luck with Paul."  He gave his friend a devious smile, "Try not to grab his ass in front of the staff again though."

"You son-of-a-"  SLAM!  Grumbling to himself, Golden leaned back in his chair, not even bothering to wonder how his friend had heard about that incident.  "Like to see you show any better control when you find someone....and the gods be with whoever that poor sap is."

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January 15, 2016

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