Chapter Text
Battat hadn't really expected anything to change, and in a lot of ways, things remained the same, but that only made the differences more bizarre. Tenna actually listened to his suggestions and even asked his opinion. Whenever Battat complimented him, he would perk up and wag his tail. It was... weird. He really wasn't sure how to feel about it. It was like he'd passed some sort of test to prove to Tenna that he was worthy of his time. Having Tenna's attention was more than he thought possible, but it was also completely knocking him off kilter. But just when Battat was beginning to settle into this new routine, he was thrown off again.
He'd spent hours at his desk making calls, digging through files, and cursing the outdated system the studio ran on, when hands landed on his shoulders.
He yelled in surprise, nearly jumping out of his skin and actually jumping out of chair.
"Wow, I've never seen a Pippins jump that high!" a voice mused.
"T-Tenna?!" he wheezed, whipping around to face him. "W-what are you doing here?"
Tenna frowned and crossed his arms. "I could ask you the same thing. Do you know how late it is?"
Battat's eyes flicked over to the clock, which proudly displayed half past ten.
He winced. "I guess I lost track of time."
Tenna hummed disapprovingly. "Your buddies said they couldn't get you to leave, but you might listen to me."
Jongler and Pluey were a couple of traitors.
Before he could say anything to defend himself, Tenna suddenly grabbed his chin. He frowned, angling Battat's head up and leaning in so close he could feel Tenna's body heat. Battat felt frozen, but his heart pounded in his chest.
He let out a shaky breath. "Boss?"
"You have terrible eyebags," Tenna said bluntly, releasing him.
Battat felt like cold water had been dumped on him. "Thanks," he muttered sarcastically.
"How much did you sleep last night?" Tenna asked.
Battat frowned, considering. "I dunno. Like an hour?"
Tenna frowned, a look of contemplation crossing his screen before he nodded to himself.
"Okay, that's it," he said, scooping Battat up like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey! Put me down!" Battat yelped, flailing uselessly.
"Nope, I'm taking you home to make sure you sleep," Tenna said, shutting Battat's computer off and grabbing his bag.
Well, that was considerate of him at least.
"...You mean my home, right?" Battat asked nervously.
Tenna looked down at him incredulously. "I can't fit in there!"
"Can't you shrink?" Battat asked.
"I can't control it when I'm unconscious," Tenna huffed.
"That's... actually fair," Battat conceded.
He didn't really want to explain a giant hole in his ceiling to his landlord.
When he blinked, they were standing in Tenna's bedroom, which was surprisingly much cleaner than last time.
"Why do you even care?" Battat asked as Tenna carefully set him down. "I barely ever get any good sleep. One hour isn't that unusual."
"I can't have you be sleep-deprived. You're my best employee," Tenna said simply.
"Oh," Battat mumbled.
The words replayed in his mind over and over, his heart fluttering annoyingly.
"Your little ploy worked," Battat told Pluey and Jongler the next morning.
"Ploy?" Jongler asked.
Battat gave them an unimpressed look. "Sending Tenna after me? Low blow."
Pluey smiled smugly, letting out a few low notes.
"None of your business," Battat muttered, cheeks flushing traitorously. "I'm not allowed to stay late anymore, so you got your wish."
"Good," Jongler said decisively. "Youse works too hard."
Pluey nodded in agreement, adding a few high excited notes.
"Yeah, we's should do somet'ing," Jongler agreed.
Battat bit his lip. "Actually, I—"
"Did you get my coffee?" Tenna interrupted.
All three of them straightened up reflexively.
"No, sorry, not yet," Battat said.
"Okay, just bring it by my office when you can," Tenna said. "Oh, and don't forget about our dinner plans."
Battat could feel Pluey and Jongler's gazes burning holes into him. Tenna loved making things harder for him, didn't he?
"'Don't forget'? I manage your schedule. You're more likely to forget," he pointed out.
Tenna laughed. "That's true." He turned his attention to Jongler and Pluey. "Thanks for the heads up yesterday, guys! Keep up the good work!"
"No problem, Boss," Jongler said.
Then, just as quickly as he'd arrived, Tenna was gone. Battat hunched his shoulders defensively.
Pluey let out a questioning note.
"It's not what you think," Battat sighed.
"Okay, okay," Jongler said, resting a hand on Pluey's shoulder. "So it ain't. What is it?"
Battat crossed his arms. He supposed if his plans prevented them from hanging out, he could at least explain it to them.
"Tenna got it in his head that I don't eat enough," he said. "He scolded me for not eating breakfast and refused to believe me when I said I was fine without it."
"He's right," Jongler interrupted.
Battat shot them a glare. "Anyway, he wanted to take me to dinner at some of his favorite restaurants for a week."
Pluey placed his hands on his cheeks and cooed.
"It's not romantic," Battat insisted.
Any private hopes be may have harbored about Pluey being right were completely dashed when Tenna just rambled endlessly while Battat could barely get a word in edgewise. From his ideas for the show ("I was thinking about adding a live band. I know the Shadowguys said they can only play saxophone, but I know that was bullshit cause I saw them—") to workplace mishaps ("And then we missed three cues cause the workers in charge of that sorta thing were slacking off by betting on how I would fail!" "I know. I'm literally the one who told you about it." "...Oh, so you were.") to relationship drama ("And I swore she had a crush on me, but I always just saw her as a friend, and anyway, it turned out she was already married, so..."), Tenna seemed to have an opinion on everything, and he didn't seem to care to hear Battat's. The food was delicious though, and Tenna paid, so Battat could tolerate this.
It was only on their way out that Tenna said, "Actually Battat, could I get your opinion on something? Your Zapper friend said you had a history with costume design."
"Sure," Battat agreed.
"It's at my place," Tenna added.
"If you wanted me to stay over, you could just ask," Battat blurted.
Tenna flushed. "What?! No! I just— It's important, and—!"
Tenna's question turned out to be legitimate, but Battat ended up staying the night again anyway.
When he went to Tenna for their next outing, Tenna's previous eager mood had been replaced with a despondent and apathetic one.
"I don't really feel like talking right now, but it's awkward when there's no conversation, so just talk as much as you want," he said bluntly.
"How kind," Battat deadpanned.
Tenna tilted his head, antennae bobbing with the motion. "Is it?"
"No! You didn't let me talk at all last time!" Battat huffed, crossing his arms.
Tenna pursed his lips. "I thought if you wanted to say something, you would."
"That's kinda hard to do when you just keep talking," Battat grumbled.
"Oh, I... didn't think of that," Tenna muttered apologetically. "Then I'll be totally quiet this time!"
That wasn't really what Battat was getting at but whatever. He had the feeling Tenna was more likely to get lost in his head than actually sit there attentively, but there was really only so much he could expect from him. Battat wasn't a very interesting person himself, and all he really knew how to contribute to a conversation was complaining, so it was probably overall a good thing for Tenna to tune him out.
Actually, that gave him a good excuse to get as much off his chest as he could without having to justify himself like he would to Jongler and Pluey. So while Tenna rested his head on his hand, vacantly pushing his food around his plate, Battat ranted about everything that was currently frustrating him about his job. It was honestly pretty cathartic.
He didn't like most of the crew, who were largely idiots. He had beef with the color-blind security guard who kept confusing him for another Pippins every time he stayed late. He was having difficulty tracking down a prop shipment that went missing. He was trying to reorganize their archaic filing system. He had to re-train some stage hands who were completely useless.
"Why?" Tenna suddenly asked, startling him out of his ranting.
"Huh?" Battat said dumbly.
"Staying late all the time, handling shipments and trainees... That's not part of your job. Why are you doing all that?" Tenna asked, leaning forward with interest.
Battat honestly thought he hadn't been listening. It had seemed like he was completely checked out. Maybe Tenna would be a more interesting opponent at the poker table than he'd thought, or maybe he could only pull off a poker face when he wasn't really trying.
"Are you... telling me to stop?" he asked hesitantly.
He didn't know what he'd do with himself in that case. Assigning himself all these extra responsibilities meant he'd get to make sure they were done correctly, he'd keeps things running smoothly, and he got to pass the time faster.
Tenna shrugged. "You can keep doing it if you want as long as it doesn't interfere with your actual job, but you kept saying how much you hated it, so I don't know why you'd want to."
Battat stared at Tenna's screen, trying to gauge his expression, but when it gave nothing away, he decided to just tell the truth.
"I guess... I just want to make everything as perfect for you as it can be," he mumbled.
Tenna's screen flickered with static before a surprised look appeared. He cleared his throat needlessly.
"If you really think all that needs to be done, I can have someone else do it," he said gently. "You don't have to do everything yourself."
Battat frowned. "But—"
"I didn't not believe your friends—was it Pluey and Jongler?—but I see they were definitely right. You do work too much. You should lighten up! Get a hobby! Hang out with your friends!" Tenna suggested.
"Why are you giving me life advice?" Battat asked irritably. "Don't you want your show to be the best it can be?"
"I do, but... I've learned there are more important things," Tenna said seriously, folding his hands together.
Battat thought of flashing lights, pounding music, and a screaming crowd and had a pretty good feeling he knew who taught him that.
"I guess you're right," he conceded. "But what's up with all this?" He gestured to the restaurant around them. "Why do you suddenly care about my life?"
Tenna rubbed a hand over his casing. "I... was really grateful for what you did. You made everything so easy for me; I didn't have to worry about anything. Lanino and Elnina are good friends, but they have a... different way of doing things. And if they had been there, keeping my promise to the kids would have been an absolute no-go! So this is thanks, I guess." He frowned, tapping his finger against the table nervously. "Do you... not like it?"
"It would be nicer if we were having a conversation the whole time instead of one-sided ranting," Battat said.
"Right. I get it," Tenna muttered. "What... would you want to talk about?"
Battat didn't actually know. He liked having a back-and-forth between them, but as for what people normally talked about? He wasn't sure.
"What's bothering you?" he asked instead.
Tenna looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? Nothing's bothering me."
"Yeah right," Battat snorted. "'I don't feel like talking.' You're normally pretty eager to blab about whatever's got your wires tangled, so when you don't say a word, it makes it seem really bad."
Tenna pushed his plate to the side and looked away. "I... I don't want to talk about it," he sighed, falling back into his chair.
Battat wanted to thump his head against the table. He was so stupid; he never should have said anything. Tenna hadn't been thinking about it, but then he had to bring it up. He should never speak again because he clearly didn't know how to do it right.
"It feels like... if I say it, that might make it real," Tenna continued. "I know that's dumb, but—"
"That's fine," Battat interrupted. "I get what you mean. I just want you to feel better, so if talking about it makes it worse..."
Tenna gave him a small smile. "Thanks."
After a few moments of silence, Tenna moved to stand. "I dunno about you, but I think we're probably done here," he said.
Battat looked down at his plate, surprised to see it empty. He'd been so distracted by talking he hadn't even realized how much he'd eaten.
"Would you want to...?" Tenna trailed off, gesturing vaguely at the door.
He could easily be talking about leaving, but Battat was pretty confident he was taking a safe bet with this assumption.
"I can't keep going home to change on my lunch breaks," he said bluntly.
Tenna deflated. "Oh. I see. That makes sense. It was just nice sleeping next to someone again."
Battat blinked. "'Again'?"
Tenna froze. "No, I mean! At all!" he exclaimed. "Not— I don't even know why I said that..."
He hunched in on himself, fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves. He looked so... sad, and honestly, Battat was getting pretty good sleep at his place, so it was an easy decision.
"If you take me home, I could grab some stuff," he suggested.
"Really?" Tenna asked excitedly. "You really want to?"
"You make for a nice heater," Battat deflected.
Something about the way Tenna's tail flicked through the air told him Tenna wasn't buying it.
If Battat was honest, spending all this extra time with Tenna was making the work day drag on forever. Tenna stayed true to his word, meaning Battat lost some of his pet projects to other people who were going to do it wrong, but it was fine. It was cool. He got to go home in time with Tenna instead, so it was totally worth it.
The week ended, but neither of them called attention to it; they just kept going out. It excited Battat as much as it made him nervous. He didn't know what he did to get Tenna's attention, but he'd do it every day forever just get another moment of his time. He knew Tenna had already explained it, but that couldn't be right. It didn't explain why Tenna kept paying for his food, kept doing his best to listen to Battat's nonsense, kept lying down next to him, kept gazing at him with something like affection. Like he was something precious. Battat was eager for it at the same time that it made him sick to his stomach. He wanted more, but it made no sense to him. He wasn't doing something to manipulate Tenna, was he? He didn't think so, but it was the only thing he could think of.
"What youse thinkin' 'bout?" Jongler asked.
Battat blinked, dragged out of his musings. How long had he been spaced out?
"Nothing important," he lied. "Sorry, what were you guys saying?"
Pluey made a smooth, cheerful tune.
"Yeah, we seen dis nice new store. It's uh. Very cutesy. Clothes-wise, y'know," Jongler added.
Ah, Battat saw where this was going.
Jongler rubbed the back of their head. "Oh, but not dat you, um..."
Pluey made a shrill, worried note.
"It's fine," Battat said. "I know what you meant. Wear whatever you want. I can just be your moral support and help you pick stuff out."
"Oh good," Jongler sighed.
Out of the corner of his eye, Battat spotted movement in the hall, and he turned to look.
Jongler tugged their bandana nervously. "Uh, say Bat, could we—"
"Sorry, can't tonight," Battat muttered distractedly. "Maybe next time?"
"Sure..." Jongler agreed.
Pluey let out a mournful note, but Battat wasn't listening anymore. He ran after the tail disappearing around the corner.
"Tenna, wait up!" he called.
Tenna stopped and looked at him curiously. "Battat? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just... umm," Battat mumbled, his mind suddenly blank.
He'd had something on his mind, right? Or was just that desperate to be near Tenna?
"Did you need more coffee?" he asked lamely.
"Nope!" Tenna said, holding his mug up. "Still half full! Actually, now that you're here, about tonight..."
"Y-yeah?" Battat prompted nervously.
Oh god, Tenna was going to cancel. Tenna was done with him, and they would never spend time together outside of work again. He had something to mess it up, just like he knew he would—
"I thought I could make something this time!" Tenna said cheerfully. "Tori sent me a recipe I've just been dying to try."
Ah. So it... wasn't over then?
"You can cook?" Battat asked, trying to recalibrate himself.
Tenna frowned. "I have a cooking show."
"Yeah, but that stuff is all pre-made," Battat scoffed.
"Who do you think pre-made it?" Tenna asked smugly.
"I... guess I never thought about it," Battat muttered.
Soon enough, Battat was sitting at the counter watching as Tenna rolled out some dough, his sleeves rolled up and tongue partially sticking out in concentration.
"What did you say you're making again?" Battat asked, trying his best not to stare at Tenna's arms.
"A quiche. Toriel swears snails really bring out the flavor in this recipe, but she doesn't need to know we skipped on that," Tenna chuckled. "It'll take a while for it to be done if you want to do something else."
"I could recap everything from today and go over the schedule tomorrow if you wanted," Battat suggested.
"Sure," Tenna agreed absently.
He puttered about the kitchen, chopping, slicing, and sautéeing ingredients while Battat rambled. It really wasn't very interesting. Today had been pretty standard, and tomorrow was supposed to be much the same. More than once, Battat's attention drifted from his notes to whatever Tenna was doing, especially when he started whisking the eggs. Those arms were just... so distracting.
He cleared his throat and looked away. "And we have to get in touch with that sponsor or find someone else to cover that slot. I don't know which you'd prefer. They keep ducking out of meetings, so I say drop 'em, but it's really up to you," he finished.
Tenna carefully put the quiche in the oven but didn't answer.
"Tenna? Did you catch all that?" Battat asked.
Tenna closed the oven and turned to face him. "Hm, what? No, I wasn't listening."
"Whatever, it doesn't matter right now," Battat sighed.
Tenna sat at the counter across from him, resting his elbows on the counter and his screen on his palms. A content smile lit his screen and his tail knocked noisily against the stool legs.
"What?" Battat asked.
"It's just been so long since I made something for someone who wasn't family," Tenna gushed.
Battat's stomach flipped. That almost made it seem like he was someone special.
"What about the cooking show?" he blurted.
"That doesn't count," Tenna groaned. "Those little thieves always take whatever I make as soon as we wrap! I'd shake them, but I'm pretty sure they actually like that sorta thing."
"We do," Battat confirmed, pushing down the mental image of Tenna shaking him.
Though, maybe now that they were closer, Tenna would oblige him if he asked... Was it getting a bit warm in here? Best to just change the subject.
"It's uh, looking a lot cleaner around here," he observed.
It was true; the piles had gradually disappeared with each of his visits, and everything seemed brighter somehow. There was a vase of fresh flowers on the counter, and a couple suncatchers hanging in the window. Not to mention the little stepladders that made it easier for Battat to get around.
"Oh, yeah," Tenna laughed nervously. "I hadn't realized how bad it had gotten before... so umm, I've been trying to fix it up."
"It's nice," Battat said, tracing a finger along one of the petals. "Where'd the suncatchers come from?"
"The kids made them for me a while back, but I lost them," Tenna said sheepishly. "I felt so awful about it, but they weren't damaged! That was a relief."
The mental image of Tenna getting emotional over what was likely an art class craft was honestly pretty endearing.
"Speaking of changes, I appreciate the thought, but I really don't need a separate stepladder for each piece of furniture," Battat said. "One per room is more than enough."
"R-right! Yeah, uh. I'll get rid of those," Tenna laughed awkwardly.
"Please do," Battat sighed.
The quiche was delicious, and Tenna was so happy Battat liked it that he cried.
Battat woke up in the middle of the night, the bed considerably cooler without Tenna's warmth. He rubbed his eyes blearily and looked around the room to confirm what he already knew. Tenna was nowhere to be found. He rolled over, attempting to go back to sleep, but without Tenna's giant body holding him close, sleep evaded him. He groaned in defeat and hopped out of bed.
He found Tenna sitting at the table in the dark, a small stack of papers in front of him. He looked up when Battat approached him.
"What're ya doin'?" Battat muttered sleepily.
"Just revising the script one last time," Tenna answered, seemingly unbothered by Battat climbing onto his lap.
His screen provided just enough light for Battat to quickly skim over the papers.
"Looks fine to me," he said honestly.
"Yeah, but... it needs to be perfect," Tenna insisted. "It's an important segment."
Battat leaned back against Tenna's chest and pressed his head into that delightfully soft robe.
"Tenna, it's great," he muttered. "Don't worry about it. Now come back to bed. It's too cold without you."
"When you put it like that, how can I refuse?" Tenna laughed.
Battat closed his eyes, listening to Tenna stack the papers and the sounds his body made when he moved. Battat loved those sounds. They were too quiet for the mics to pick up, but up close like this, he could hear everything. He was treated to more clicks and whirs as Tenna supported his weight with one hand, stood, and pushed the chair back in. Battat felt so small and safe in his arms; he wished Tenna would carry him everywhere, but sadly, Tenna laid him down on the bed. Battat sighed and rolled over, content to go back to sleep now that Tenna was lying next to him.
Except, Battat could feel Tenna's gaze on him. He contemplated whether to ignore him and allow sleep to take him or not. Tenna's hand rested on Battat's waist, his thumb stroking his back. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, resigning himself to seeing what Tenna wanted, before he opened them and rolled over to face him.
The glow of Tenna's screen chased away the dark. Battat squinted, trying to re-adjust to the brightness but refusing to blink. Like this, Tenna was a beautiful sight to behold, and now that Battat was looking at him, he was too greedy to look away.
"Hi," Tenna whispered.
"Hey," Battat murmured. "What do you want?"
Tenna didn't answer, instead bringing his hand up to Battat's cheek. Breathing out shakily, Battat lidded his eyes and leaned into Tenna's touch. He wished he could tell exactly where Tenna was looking. It would make the fact that he couldn't stop glancing down at Tenna's mouth less embarrassing.
"Are you just gonna stare at me?" he asked.
Tenna hummed. "No, I just needed a moment."
Before Battat could ask what for, Tenna was pulling him in closer and pressing their lips together. Battat let out a muffled noise of surprise, his hand flying up to grip Tenna's casing and keep him from pulling away. He sank into the kiss, half-convinced he must be dreaming.
Tenna's fangs grazed his lip, and he gasped, welcoming the slide of Tenna's tongue along his lip and moaning when it entered his mouth. Tenna's vents let out hot air that made his skin tingle, and he shivered, pulling away to catch his breath. Tenna slipped a hand around his hips, pulling him closer, so close that Battat's body was mostly pressed against him. Battat's glided along Tenna's neck as he kissed him again.
He wasn't sure how long this would last; if this was his only chance, he had to make it count. He didn't deserve to have more; he knew he didn't. If he held Tenna's heart, it wouldn't be long before he dropped and shattered it. But if he could just have this...
His heart threatened to leap from his chest as their tongues slid together. Tenna's taste was so sweet, and Battat's mouth tingled from the latent electricity, but the sensation was intoxicating. Tenna's sighs were the prettiest sound he'd ever heard. Tenna's hands on his body were grounding but gentle. He tried to catalogue every detail so he could remember this moment forever.
Eventually, Tenna pulled away, and Battat resisted the urge to chase his lips. His screen was flushed a soft shade of pink, and Battat felt lucky that he was the reason for it. Tenna looked at him, considering. Battat swallowed nervously, wiping the corner of his mouth. He wondered what Tenna was thinking. What he saw when he looked at him. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. He was too nervous to break the silence between them.
After what felt like an eternity, Tenna finally nodded to himself.
"Yep, I liked that! Okay, good night," he said, and with that, his screen abruptly shut off, leaving Battat alone in the dark with his thoughts.