Chapter Text
It was going to be another late work day for Tenna, meaning that he wasn’t going to get to see you until the sun had long set.
He’d been making an effort to spend some time of the day with you, whether it was loitering in bed on days where he didn’t have much other than filming, holding you gently until you awoke, or stopping by your workplace under the guise of checking in on your work. Even so, Tenna craved your presence, your attention.
But today, he was buried up to his waist in paperwork. His office looked like a fit from Elnina had swept through it, streaming contracts and employee forms sitting in various, semi-organized piles on his desk, the shredder he had bought for confidential information malfunctioning as the bin it dispensed into overflowed. There was a coffee stain on the floor that he’d been meaning to clean up.
He pressed his left palm into his screen, fiddling with a pen with his other hand. Tenna had been working for so long the words looked like they were melting off the pages of the document. It was supposed to be details about an upcoming inspection for the electrical department, something about making sure the stage lights were up to standard. There were a couple of clauses that someone had highlighted, making sure that he would look over those closely.
He’d made good progress today. There were still plenty of papers to be read, don’t get him wrong, but he’d read and signed off on a good few stacks today. He’d get someone to file all the documentation into the proper channels tomorrow morning when they came in.
He glanced over at the clock on the wall, the phantom print of the paper lingering in his vision. It took him a moment to read it, but when he did, he sighed. It had only been a few hours since he got off stage, just beginning after-hours. It hadn’t been anywhere near long enough to gallivant off to bed, hoping that you’d be in his apartment, spending the night with him instead of taking a cab back to your apartment.
At first, when you’d started dating, you would insist on going back to yours, only staying when Tenna would take you to bed, when he would pleasure you until your legs were jelly. You’d tried to remain polite when all he wanted was for you to stay and stay and stay. Then, Tenna had given you a key, and the days where he would find you sleeping in his bed when he came back late got more and more frequent.
That first night where he found out that you’d come over more or less uninvited—he couldn’t really say that you hadn’t been invited at all, the key was a standing, open invitation, really—had been one of the best nights of his life.
He sighed again. He missed you terribly. Tenna’s work day started earlier and ended later than yours, so sometimes he would have to leave before you woke and come back after you’d turned in. Those days were few and far between, but it wasn’t rare enough that it only occurred once or twice. On those days where you had elected to go to your place instead, which were getting fewer and fewer, Tenna would spend the night wishing you were there.
He looked at the document again. This time, the letters seemed to pulse, black spreading across the page before ebbing back to normal size.
Maybe it was time for a short break.
He stood up from his chair, interlacing his fingers and stretching his arms. His back popped as mechanisms snapped back into place, dislodged from his posture that had slowly gotten worse over the course of the day.
He left his tailcoat on the coat rack when he stepped out of his office, intending to walk down to the break room for another cup of coffee. Thank the Fountain that they had secured a sponsor with a major drinks company, allowing them to provide employees with free coffee pods. Actually, it was probably thanks to you. He’d been so frazzled that day that if it hadn’t been for your gentle reminder, he would have shown up an hour late to the meeting.
The hallway was dark, lights dimmed on account of next to no-one still left in the office other than the odd late worker, security guard, and Tenna himself. Most people left as soon as they could, and although he was slightly miffed about it, now that he had things to look forward to outside of the studio, he found that he couldn’t really blame them.
In fact, the darkness probably contributed to ushering everyone out of the place. The studio was expensive to light and heat, multiple stories all needing to be operational at the same time. Darkness never bothered Tenna, though, as his face acted as a makeshift flashlight, allowing him to see wherever he was going without the cover of shadow.
That was why it was so surprising when he ran into someone, stumbling and catching himself with the wall. He turned around, an indignant snark bubbling up from his chest, dying on his lips. It was you, looking exhausted, a clipboard having fallen from your hands.
“Oh!” Tenna stuttered your name. “I– I didn’t, I’m, are you okay?”
He knelt down, offering a hand to you. You placed your own hand in his, standing up and brushing yourself off.
“I’m okay,” you said, smiling tiredly at him, bending down to pick up the clipboard. “Just didn’t see you there.”
“I’m not sure how you couldn’t,” Tenna joked, sliding into the familiar companionship he had with you. “I’m very noticeable, as I’m sure you know.”
You chuckled at him as he pretended to puff up his chest, still kneeling on the ground in front of you like he was a knight swearing his loyalty to his superior. The only difference was that he was looking at you in the face with a gentle smile.
Maybe he didn’t need a coffee. Maybe all he needed was your presence. Already he felt ten times better.
“So, Mr. Tenna,” you said, “what are you doing in these hallways, so late at night?”
“Well, you see,” Tenna said, index finger tapping his bottom lip in a mockery of thinking, “I was in my office, thinking about my lovely girlfriend, when I had the urge to go lurk in the halls.” He accompanied his words with a melodramatic flourish of his hands, the showman in him arising from the ashes of paperwork.
You stifled a laugh, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his frame. “Is that so?”
He smiled at you. “Mhm.”
“Well,” you said, kissing his cheek, “I was thinking about you too.”
“Really?”
Your hand caressed the side of his head. He leaned into it. “Yep! I was coming to see you, actually.”
Tenna would never get used to the intensity of the attention you gave him. He felt like he was going to explode, right there in the middle of the hallway. When trained on him, your eyes always felt so much more than any of the audiences’ eyes.
He didn’t have any words left. Instead, he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to your mouth. He could feel the curve of your lips under his, the taste of you steadily drowning out the white noise of the atmosphere until only you were left.
“I had such an excellent excuse, too,” you mumbled against his lips. “Guess I didn’t need it, after all.”
Tenna tilted his head, allowing for easier access. He hummed, delighted at your admission. “Is that so?” he repeated your words back at you.
“Mm.”
His hand crept up to your waist, pulling you in. You made a noise against him, some sort of a half-sigh, half-groan, and all of a sudden the ambience had changed from relaxed to charged. His thumb rubbed circles against your waist as you leaned into him, clipboard dangling in your hand as your arms went over his shoulders.
The scent of you invaded his nose as he inhaled deeply, breathing fully a reflex for him. Your tongue swiped over his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth obediently, trying not to whimper as you traced over his fangs. Tenna was losing himself more and more as the two of you kissed, forgetting that there were cameras possibly watching.
Then, you shifted slightly, and all of a sudden he was exceedingly aware of his rising erection as your leg brushed against it. A whine keened out of him before he could stifle it, causing you to pull back. He chased after your lips for a moment, dazed.
Your clothes were somewhat rumpled, lips red from the impromptu make-out session.
“Tenna,” you whispered, still holding on to him. “Tenna, we ca—”
You cut yourself off, eyes going wide as the telltale sounds of a Zapper hopping just out of sight echoed down the bend of the hallway. Tenna shot up from his spot on the ground, frantically looking around for a hiding spot. It wouldn’t do either of you any good to get caught making out like teenagers.
There! A broom closet! He yanked open the door, ushering you inside before getting in himself. The space was small and cramped, and you both had to maneuver yourselves into awkward positions to get the door to shut properly.
He listened intently as the Zapper hopped slowly down the hallway, doing his rounds as a night guard. The situation was ridiculous, Tenna was ridiculous, shoving you into a closet like one of those kids who had brought their partner over when their parents said no. Tenna didn’t even have parents!
What was he doing? What was he thinking? He wasn’t thinking, that was the problem, because you had made it very clear that you didn’t want your relationship to be flaunted and announced to the world, you just wanted it to be natural. Although, Tenna would definitely do that if you wanted him to.
And then he made out with you in the middle of the hallway because he couldn’t control himself, just like how he couldn’t control his dick from twitching as your breaths ghosted across it.
Tenna’s heart missed a beat as he realized what, exactly, had been making him so twitchy. He slowly looked down, no longer breathing. You were situated between his legs, crouching slightly, mouth parted slightly. Your eyes looked up at him, trailed over his body, his arms splayed against the wall, knees bent and open for you.
It was a very compromising position. He could feel every one of your exhales, breath still warm due to the short distance between his crotch and your face.
The Zapper stopped right outside the door as they received a signal from someone on their walkie-talkie, the noise crackling as they started a conversation. Tenna wanted to scream at them to go away, but then he would have to deal with all the staff gossip about him being in a closet with an employee, with your lips clearly kiss-swollen and his cock being fully erect.
He shivered as you exhaled again. He’d love nothing more than to fuck you right here, right now. His cock jerked at the thought, the motion visible through his pants. Your eyes flicked down to the very obvious tent in his pants, then back up again.
He could practically see an idea pop into your mind, eyelashes fluttering as you dipped your head slightly, just enough to look up at him through your lashes. Anticipation crawled up his spine. The Zapper outside still wasn’t moving, still talking about things that no one cared about.
Tenna watched in slow motion as you leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his bulge. Your lips moved over it, the heat from your breath all the more present. It felt so good. A whine was building up in his speakers, and he had to bite his lip to stop it.
But you didn’t stop there. You opened your mouth, letting your tongue press against him in a rolling motion, sending jolts of pleasure through his body. His head tilted back, letting out an audible, shaky breath that could have been a silent whimper. He wasn’t sure anymore.
“What are you doing?” Tenna hissed. His chest heaved in an attempt to stop himself from panting. “You, I can’t, I’m not gonna be able to–”
“Shh,” you whispered against him. You tilted your head, pressing a kiss to the side of his cock, straining against the seam of his pants, and he suddenly found that he couldn’t speak anymore.
Had the room gotten hotter? Was it just Tenna, overheating under your touch?
Your hand slid up his thigh, rubbing circles into the dip where his leg connected to his pelvis. He shook under your touch, feather-light and teasing. He’s over halfway to desperate, now, always one to fall for your charms whenever you become unfairly close.
You’re driving me crazy, Tenna wanted to say. He’s sure you know, mouthing at his hard-on, wanton and cocksure. Every movement of yours seemed deliberate, calculated to break him down until he’d be left begging for your mercy, until his mind would be screaming for more, more, more, until he’d be left dripping into his underwear, sure to set a stain.
Distantly, he was glad that today, he didn’t choose to wear one of the few leather pants he owned instead of his normal slacks. Once upon a time, you’d mentioned that those were incredibly difficult to clean, hence why you refused to make them anymore.
A small noise keened out of his throat, nearly imperceptible to Tenna’s own receivers. But you heard. You always heard. You pulled back ever so slightly, two inches between your mouth and his clothed, soaked cock, enough to put a single digit to your lips in a shushing motion. He thought, in that moment, that his artificial heart could burst out of his chest with how fast it was beating, could punch a hole through nonexistent ribs and sternum until it could reach out for you.
And then your mouth was back on him, sealing around his tip, and it felt far too good. There was a pressure starting to build up in his lower wires, the natural response of his body to yours, a hint of the overwhelming pleasure that was sure to come.
Your cheeks were red from arousal, or maybe it was a reflection of Tenna’s own face. Your right hand was stroking up and down his upper thighs, now, the motion smooth and determined, palm dragging along the fabric. Your left had crawled its way under his shirt, untucking it and leaving him looking utterly debauched.
He couldn’t bring himself to care. You could brand him with your mouth, leave marks on his cock for him to look at on those nights where he’s far too wound up, and he’d thank you for it. One of his hands rested on your head, hips making instinctive rolling motions so small he could’ve gotten away with it if you were onstage.
You pressed in impossibly closer. Tenna opened his mouth, back arching off the wall behind him, throwing his unoccupied hand—his arm, really—over his face, blocking his view of you. He’s sure you look alluring, in fact, he knows you do, but if he makes eye contact with you he might just come on the spot.
And oh, maybe this was worse, because now he’s completely defenseless against you, the sensations multiplied as the input of one sense became muted. Now, he could feel the familiar curve of your lips, the press of your tongue, saliva soaking into the fabric, leaving it damp, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Pleasure was pulsing through his body, getting stronger and stronger, rooted in his groin until he could barely think. All that was left of the world was you, and your hand had slid down from its place on his hip to dip below his waistband, leaving a searing path of desire wherever it trailed over.
He was trembling. Stars danced in his vision as he bit his lip hard, fangs digging into the pliable material of his glass. Tenna liked to think that his stamina had gotten better over the course of being with you, and maybe it had, but clearly not by much. He was close, getting closer, even closer, but he wasn’t quite there yet, and he needed more.
Then, just then, you pulled away. Tenna nearly sobbed from the lack of stimulation, arm falling off his face as he reached out for you. You tilted your head, listening to something, then you nodded to yourself.
“I think the Zapper’s gone,” you said. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Tenna could barely form words. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth, mind fogged with desire. “Wh– huh?”
You fixed your eyes on him. “The Zapper’s gone,” you repeated. “Let’s get out of this closet.”
His head spun. Okay, sure, the Zapper was gone. What did that have to do with anything? Tenna whined, pawing at you. Was he going to have to beg for you to finish him off? He wouldn’t mind if that’s what you wanted. He’d gladly do so.
“Tenna,” you said. “You, I– I can’t, make you finish. Not now.”
Tenna felt himself shrink more than a few inches from the rejection. “Why not?” he rasped. His cock was still fully erect in his pants, still fully aroused, even though his creeping orgasm had faded away.
“Because I, you–" You cut yourself off with an uncertain, breathy laugh. You ran a hand through your hair, pushing it back. “You’re, um, you were getting loud.”
Tenna’s size had decreased so much that he had become approximately your height. Had he been making noise? He hadn’t noticed if he had, too caught up in what you were doing to him. He felt ready to cry, antennae drooping with sadness.
“It’s, fuck, it’s really hard to hold back,” you admitted. “You sound incredible, you really do. But we can’t have everyone hearing you, you understand?”
“I understand,” Tenna said meekly, staring at the ground. He was slightly shorter than you now, staring at the floor, small enough that there was finally enough room for the two of you to stand fully in the small closet.
Your eyes searched his face. He almost wanted to pull up a barrier between you two, put up the showman’s personality that he always had. But he wanted you to stay, still so desperate for your touch.
Just as you were about to pull away, about to open the door and leave him behind, Tenna grabbed your hand. He looked up at you. “Please don’t go,” he choked out pleadingly. “Don’t leave me.”
“I’m sorry,” you said. “I can’t. I already told my co-workers that I was going to go to Team Dinner today.”
“Oh… I’ll just… go home, by myself then.”
He was absolutely miserable. He didn’t want to go back by himself, he wanted you to go back with him, kissing him, loving him.
You looked down at him and sighed. He was getting smaller and smaller by the second, a reflection of how he felt on the inside.
“Tenna,” you said softly. “I’m not leaving forever. I’ll be back, promise.”
“You will?” He said hopefully, growing a bit. “Tonight?”
“Well…”
Tenna shrunk again.
“I don’t know if I can make it back,” you said. “We’re going to some place in Cyber City, so it’ll probably be dark by the time it’s over, and my place is closer anyways.”
“I’ll pay for your taxi! Anything you want, whatever you want! You don’t want me to be all lonely by myself, do you?”
“Tenna.” You said his name admonishingly, disappointedly. A noise of protest died in his speakers. “Don’t do that.”
He froze. He hadn’t meant for it to sound like that—he had just been so distraught at the thought of you leaving that he was saying whatever he could to get you to stay.
You took a deep breath in and out. “Listen. I’ll be back, okay? Not tonight, probably, but definitely by tomorrow.”
Yes. Sure. That was fine. Tenna could work with that. You were coming back tomorrow, you promised that you would be back. He could be patient, he could.
“Okay,” he said, the word coming out strangled.
You embraced him, pulling him close and pressing a kiss to his head. “You can be patient for me, yeah? Be my good boy?”
And woof, he did not know that you were going to pull that particular trump card out. He didn’t even know that you had remembered you had that trump card.
He stuttered something out, possibly an amalgamation of your name, entirely too flustered for how dejected he had felt just moments before. He pulled back slightly, and he could see the reflection of his blush, bright and colorful, in your glittering eyes.
“Yeah, you know you are. Go back to work, now,” you said. You were holding back a smile. “Tomorrow will be here before you know it.”
“Okay,” Tenna breathed, stunned. Obediently, he fumbled for the doorknob, coordination suddenly shot from whatever you had done to him with those two words.
You reached out a hand, stopping him from turning it just as he was about to. You tucked his shirt back into his pants, hands dipping and sliding along his waist, quick and efficient. His erection, which had died down, suddenly came back to life with a roaring passion.
“You look so good,” you whispered, causing him to squeak. “Can’t wait to see you later.”
Your eyes trailed up and down him, taking him in. Tenna had grown nearly to his full height, once again cramped in the broom closet, tugging at his collar nervously. Pixelated sweat ran down his screen.
“And,” you said finally, devastatingly, rolling the word in your mouth as if you were testing the waters, like you were hesitant to say whatever you were going to say, “don’t take care of this before I get to you, m’kay?”
You cupped him through his clothes and Tenna’s breath punched out of him. Then, as if you had been completely unaffected by what had occurred, you opened the door, stepped out, and disappeared down the hallway.
Flabbergasted, he stood there for a second, mind catching up to the present. Then, realizing that he was still in the closet, he stumbled out, shutting the door behind him, and sped-walked as quickly as he could back to his office.
He made it there in record time, faster than the times he’d walked back from the stage, stewing in anger at a bad performance, staff jumping out of his way, faster than the time water had gotten into his ports and he had to open himself up before he short-circuited, faster than the time his Lightners had begun fighting and Tenna thought his head would explode.
When the door shut, and he was securely in the privacy of his office, he leaned against it and sunk to the ground slowly, legs splayed out.
It was a good thing that people left as soon as they could. He had encountered no one on his way back to his office. And, well, your relationship might not have been a secret, exactly, but Tenna found that he didn’t want anyone to see you the way he saw you. He wanted you all to himself.
He looked up at the clock on the wall. Not even ten minutes had passed since he left the office, and while he may not have gotten his coffee, he didn’t feel tired anymore. He had long ago found out that it was hard to fall asleep with a boner, on one of the many nights he had fantasized about you.
But still, he thought, looking at the stacks of paper left on his desk, it was going to be a long night. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow night.