Work Text:
Had Spamton been in his regular body, the walk back to Ralsei’s castle would have been absolute hell, especially trying to bring the essentially-comatose Tenna with him. It wasn’t so bad in his NEO form, but Tenna was still a bit heavy for him even despite his shrinking, and he had to stop to rest and readjust him more times than he would’ve liked. Despite his growing frustration with the slow progress, he was as gentle with Tenna as he possibly could be.
Tenna appreciated this even as his pain faded, but he couldn’t bring himself to try and use his voice again. He didn’t think he’d be able to bear hearing what he now sounded like again. Spamton seemed to understand this shockingly well, and he didn’t pressure Tenna into talking to him even when he noticed Tenna starting to shift in his hold a bit easier.
Spamton was exhausted by the time he made it back to the castle, and he sat against the wall beside the entrance, pulling Tenna to his chest as he caught his breath.
“Hah.. hah.. The things I [Do not wait!] for [Love is in the air-]..”
He had a moment of peace in which he simply held Tenna close, content to keep him there and rub his side and back soothingly. Tenna took the time to reboot himself, getting a head start on fixing anything he could before Spamton started messing with his hardware.
Spamton felt the moment when Tenna fell fully unconscious, and he tensed momentarily before realizing what he was doing. He moved Tenna to lay more comfortably against him and pressed that pseudo-kiss to his casing once more.
“You’re going to be [fine tuned], don’t worry, [cathode]...” he mumbled, more to himself than to Tenna.
Spamton startled when the door opened again, quickly shielding Tenna with his wings as he turned to see who it was.
“Ha! Oh, you should’ve seen the look on your face when you couldn’t find those mints,” Susie chuckled, walking backwards through the door to face Kris and Ralsei as they entered after her. “I think that might’ve been the most emotion I’ve ever seen on you.”
Kris grimaced in response, one hand rested by a pouch on their belt. Ralsei crossed his arms and shook his head disapprovingly. “It’s not funny, Susie. Something really bad could’ve happened.”
“Oh please, it’s not like they were missing, they just switched pockets, that’s all.” She paused when she got unamused looks from both of her friends, and she sighed. “Alright, alright, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. You gotta admit, though, that was a pretty good reaction.”
Kris rolled their shoulders and relaxed, but they didn’t continue walking with the other two. They instead turned to Spamton suddenly, being the first to notice him, and looked over him and Tenna with a scrutinizing gaze.
Spamton cringed internally as he recalled the last time he and Kris had interacted when he was in this form, and he turned away slightly, his glasses going to static as he put a hand up in surrender, the other still resting on Tenna.
“..[Cathode] got into a bit of [car trouble?] with some [foul, loathesome, evil little] scrappers....” he explained, folding his arms back around Tenna protectively.
Kris gestured over the two with a raised, questioning eyebrow, and Spamton bristled defensively.
“You [try now!] carrying around someone more than your [jumbo size] for [25 miles an hour] and see how quickly you get your [taskmaster unresponsive] done!”
Kris kept his gaze for a moment more, then shrugged and turned with an ‘I'm watching you’ gesture before walking off to follow their friends.
Spamton grumbled to himself and started trying to stand against the wall, keeping Tenna against his chest as best he could as he did so. Tenna was somehow heavier when relaxed, but Spamton kept his footing as he slowly progressed to their room.
When he made it, he set Tenna on the bed with shaking arms before collapsing on top of him, a white light encasing his form as he toppled that left him laying against Tenna’s chest in what was considered his normal body. He groaned exhaustedly and let his still-sore arms and legs rest.
He looked up to see the faint, barely-visible progress bar on Tenna’s screen, and he sighed softly as it got to halfway. It was best to do the repairs while Tenna was unconscious to spare him the pain and the emotional turmoil. Spamton slumped off of Tenna and made his way to the walk-in closet, squeezing through the little door that Tenna had put in the bottom of the folding doors for him. He drew towards the back wall, pushing aside suits and a few boxes with a great deal of effort before finding what he needed.
When the Roaring Knight had cleaved Tenna, it took weeks for the lightners and the crew to find all of the parts needed to fix him. Spamton had been a nervous wreck. He hadn’t yet made up with Tenna, and his heart still stung with his partner’s initial reaction to him, but the thought of losing him forever and that threat being tangible right in front of him was just too much.
Ever since then, Spamton had been- for lack of a better term- hoarding any CRT parts and other pieces that may have been useful for this very occasion. He kept this secret from Tenna, mainly because he knew the implication would horrify his poor lover, and he’d hoped that he would never have to resort to actually using any of it.
Well, hope had hardly ever worked in his favor anyhow.
***********
Tenna stirred weakly, a groan coming through his speakers as he lifted a hand to the side of his head. Well, at least he could move again. He felt the sensation of something soft rubbing against his screen, so he hesitated to turn it on, but he noted how some parts of his body felt different than they had the day prior.
Some of the wires that had been an idle, buzzing pain inside him no longer ailed him. A few of his circuits that tended to run hot now matched the temperature of the rest of his body. His joints didn’t squeak or grind at all when he tested if he’d regained full mobility, which he had.
The soft sensation left his screen, and Tenna hesitantly turned it back on as he felt a pressure settle onto his chest.
“There’s my pretty [-star of our show!]. How ya’ feeling, [doll]?”
Tenna sat up a bit, cupping a hand behind Spamton’s back to keep him close. “I.. I feel great. Better than I did before, really.. Thank you, Spammy..”
Tenna hesitated, pulling Spamton close but not showing him quite the amount of affection he’d expected. He looked Spamton over briefly, and the addison sighed softly as he leaned back into Tenna’s palm.
“Looking for [new and improved]?”
Tenna focused back on his face and shook his head slightly. “S-sorry.. Sorry, I just.. Was that really you? How did you do that?”
Spamton looked away, his glasses going to static once more as he squirmed a bit uncomfortably.
“I suppose I do [amount owed-] you a proper [explained in the fine print]...”