Chapter Text
Tenna’s chest raised and lowered softly with a mechanical hum. The soft warmth of his head, still cupped in your hand, spread all through your body, warming you from the inside out. He was curled against you, fitting like a puzzle piece between you and the soft wall of pillows surrounding you both. Tenna didn’t ever want to leave – when he was this small, he could let himself get lost in you, you all he could see, touch, feel. You became his world, the overwhelming feeling of you enveloping him like the softest, warmest, most perfect of blankets.
The soft fuzz of his screen static tickled your eyelashes as he wriggled closer to you, your eyelids flickering - a soft, content sigh echoed from somewhere inside him.
His screen was on, dimmer than usual, tinted a soft pink that had not completely disappeared from when he eagerly jumped on top of you at your offer, burying himself in your clothes and hugging as much of you as he could reach. You’d laughed as you’d reciprocated, holding him in a soft hug, still tight enough to press his tiny body to yours as your chest was filled with a soft, fuzzy feeling.
You had to contain your urge to kiss him all over like a puppy – seeing him this tiny always got to you, the need to cuddle and hold him tight overwhelming, nuzzling your cheek to his miniature screen. You knew he wouldn’t last long like this – whatever feelings that were keeping him small were sure to vanish shortly, especially if you gave in to your aforementioned thoughts– but you also wanted to enjoy your miniature boyfriend a tiny bit longer. You could try your chances – a surprise attack might get past his defences for long enough for you to get your fill before the growing kicked in and you found yourself being straddled by your gigantic boyfriend. A third, even more delicious option started forming in your mind – oh, that one was good – the others could wait for another time.
Suddenly, Tenna found himself being softly kissed, his antennas twirling and curling into each other. His hands softly cradled your face as you held the kiss, your lips tingling from electric sparks, before breaking it off and peppering his casing with soft pecks – he shifted nervously, overwhelmed in all the best ways at your abrupt shower of affection. He didn’t feel the smirk in your lips as you pressed them to his side softly, letting out a whisper.
"I love TV, you know that?"
With a soft yelp, he pulled himself closer as he pressed a tiny kiss into your neck – the felling of tiny lips tickling you.
"Give me a warning next time!!" Tenna whined against your skin, embarrassed. His screen had gradually been turning redder, and now it glowed a bright crimson against your face.
“I really do! I love TV.”
The small screen pressed against you was now unbearably hot. Tenna eagerly looks up at you, a constant stream of hot air leaving his vents. “Could you - say it again?” he urged, his voice small.
“I love my sweet, adorable TV” you replied, dotting the sentence with a kiss.
Full body shudders ran through him as you felt him grow a couple inches.
“You know what I’m currently thinking about?”
“What?” he replied, drinking in your every word, not taking his eyes off you.
“I’m thinking about what a tooth-rottingly sweet boyfriend you are. And how perfectly you fit between my arms. And how I’d like to-” you kissed him, another sweet yelp coming from his speakers “-kiss you-” Kiss“-everywhere-” Kiss “-until you feel better.” Ironically, each passing second he fit less and less perfectly between your arms, until you were holding a fairly decently sized version of your boyfriend to your chest.
“I’m feeling pretty SWANKY right now! But -um- I wouldn’t mind feeling – ah - better! What-what else are you thinking about?” His voice was shaky, a deep need obvious behind his words.
“I’m thinking about you.”
“That seems to be the – HA - recurring topic!” his voice cracked as you continued to kiss him, finally forcing himself to break eye contact as it suddenly became too much, too much, too much-
“Oh, it’s the best topic. Who wouldn’t want a charming TV host filling their every thought, huh, Mr Ant Tenna?”
You’d reduced him to a puddle, a goo of static, a bunch of loose wiring in the shape of a TV-headed man. He was a complete mess, and a rapidly growing mess at that – he’d slowly been growing since you’d started whispering sweet words at him, and he was only picking up speed.
“You good?”
“Am – am I?” he needed to know. Needed to hear you say it. Was he good? Was he perfect? Was he all you would ever need?
“The best.”
Tenna grew a good foot and a half in a split-second as the words left your lips, letting out the loudest whine you’d ever heard, crinkling with static as his screen flashed with colour bars. A puff of dust left his vents, his electron guns working overtime to keep his screen on-
“My adorable, handsome, perfect TV.”
He slumped against you, defeated, his weight almost crushing you beneath him – you’d not only succeeded in making him grow back, he was quite a bit larger than usual. As usual, you’d gone above and beyond for your beloved CRT – he was so, so, so lucky to have you. He nuzzled his sharp nose against your head, your hair softly tickling his face. A subtle sweet smell permeated the air, like burnt sugar and a fresh bloom. You let him rest for a moment, your heart thundering against your chest – you hadn’t expected him to get so worked up, and you’d be lying if it you said it hadn’t gotten to you, too.
"Are you feeling better now?” your voice was soft as you laid a hand on top of his head, the other trapped between your body and his.
"Hmm. Although I wouldn’t mind hearing your thoughts on TV a couple hundred more times." His raspy and static-laced voice tickled something in your brain as you felt your ears grow hot – but you had more important things to focus on.
“Are you okay to talk some more - about what happened before?"
A soft intake of breath left him as he took a couple seconds to enjoy his current position, before crossing his arms and laying his head on your chest, looking at you attentively.
"I know today has been intense, but I want you to remember what we talked about, Ant. Not just today, but always – at least try to keep it in mind"
"Which part?"
"Mmmh...every one of them, I think. Although I was referring to the ‘treating your employees’ better part." You replied.
His weight slowly left you as he rose, and you followed, stretching your arms for a moment before repositioning yourself - now looking at him as you turned on the couch. He looked at you, his head slightly hanging.
"I'm. I’m sorry…"
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.” Your hand absentmindedly rubbed his arm, trying to put him at ease with your soft touch.
“I'm not saying they're not in the wrong – by the Angel, a whole casino??- but that was absolutely the wrong way to handle the situation. You have to be a good boss to your employees, and that means…”
You left him to finish the sentence.
"Not shouting at them, easy – no threatening to dock their pay? Um..."
"Okay, add ‘Making an HR department’ to the list. I swear I don't know how this place works, it better be a dark world thing because-”
A soft creak drew your eyes towards the door. A lone pippin stood on the doorway, staring at you both with a mischievous grin. Was it… it was! The same pippin Tenna had violently grabbed and dropped had come back, most likely to take his revenge – and from you could see as your head snapped back to your literally fuming boyfriend, it was working. You warningly grabbed his sleeve, the fabric leaving your hand as he shot up – the pippins instantly bolting away.
“YOU!!!!!! GET BACK HERE!!!!!” he roared, making his way to the door in two long strides before coming to an abrupt stop, bringing his hands to his head as he twirled in anger.
“My REPUTATION! In SHAMBLES!! Mike, throw out my DESK! Demolish the STUDIO! There's no coming back from this!!!” his head steamed in shame, the leftover petals on his nose falling off as he gestured frantically. You carefully observed to see if the anger was truly getting to him, but this tantrum seemed to be half parts embarrassment, half his need for theatrics. Well, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone... He was strung up like a string, and it seemed like he needed some sort of outlet for all his tension.
He'd always been so overdramatic. You tried to keep a smile from breaking out and failed, snorting. Tenna stopped his pacing, looking back at you.
"Love, I - think by now they know we're dating."
"OF COURSE, but- We weren’t even - " he stumbled over both his words and the couch, his outstretched arms clumsily caging you between them as they stopped his fall, hovering over you.
"What do you think they think romantic partners do when they’re alone, huh?"
His screen stuttered as he did, colour bars quickly flashing past. His face blinked back into view, visibly flustered.
“AHAM. AH. THAT’S NOT. What I MEANT.”
"Is it so bad for them to imagine you like this? In my embrace?"
You teasingly slid your hands up his arms, slowly tracing their shape, before coming to rest them on his shoulders.
"Um-ah. Huh. I GUESS- I guess not..." Furrowing his brows, his eyes darted from you to the still moving door, clearly split between two thoughts.
"Then… what are you going to do about it?"
"Huh?"
You looked up at him, mischievously, and flirtatiously bit your lip, trying to look appealing – you were half-regretting having taken off his tie. You instantly felt your face burning –your incredibly cheesy attempt at flirting immediately rendering you self-conscious (What was THAT??? Why were you biting your lip?? You never did that!!).
As mortifying as it had been, your attempt at a distraction worked flawlessly - a shit-eating grin stretched on Tenna’s face, his screen becoming brighter and slowly tinting red. Go-lly, you sure knew how to make his tungsten coil overheat!
"I guess…that HR department can wait a bit longer..."
He covered you in static-laced kisses, nose getting caught in your hair, his smile even wider.
"Tenna!!" you pressed your hand against his lips, pushing him away for a second, his mouth adorably scrunched against your fingers.
“But seriously – you do need to do something about that when we’re done here, okay?”
He kissed your fingertips before slightly moving away. “I-I do, starlight. I am – not proud of what happened today.” He fell silent for a moment, a serious look on his face, and for a moment he was somewhere far, far away from you. “I’ll do better. My crew, the show… They all know how important they are to me… it’s only fair I tried to show it better.”
When he looked back, there was a determined spark in his eyes that made your heart skip a beat. Well, it was a start. You were sure Mike would be cursing your name for months – trying to switch up the working conditions of TV Time seemed like a complete bureaucratic nightmare. You hoped the changes would help him for the better, too – that guy spent almost as much time with your boyfriend as you (did he have any holidays? Days off? You didn’t recall him ever calling in sick..). You jumped, Tenna’s hand softly pressing against your shoulders as he hovered over you, breaking out of your thoughts. Soft, romantic music had started played from his speakers as he looked at you from above, his smile and voice smooth and confident. He’d unbuttoned a couple buttons of his shirt, the glint of his metal chest catching the light. (You tried not to stare. You failed. Miserably.)
“Now, darling, where were we?” He softly ran his hand through his antennas, as if he were sexily musing his hair like one of the many romance movie leads he’d seen so many of. He was a sucker for tropes, and lucky for him, you found his corniness adorably charming – and returned it in kind. You laced your fingers together, smiling up at him breathlessly, like you were hopelessly smitten (you were).
“Kiss me, you fool!”
You let out a mix between a yelp and a laugh as his antennas sparked and he threw his weight onto you, static lips engulfing yours in the first of many, many kisses.
-
The TV Time set was empty – the liminal feeling of an usually bustling workplace after hours settled like dust in the rooms. A shape moved through the shadows with certainty, following a specific route – identical corridors morphing and twisting into each other.
The pippins stopped, having reached its destination, and stared at the golden star – ‘Mr Tenna’s PRIVATE DRESSING ROOM’ written on it in thick letters.
It knew it had a problem. It was a gambling addict - and what bigger thrill than gambling with its life? The TV-shaped door was still ajar from his earlier escapade, adrenaline filling its body at the memory. Go big or go home. It’s all or nothing! The pippins got closer, listening, his eyes darting around until his hand pressed against the wooden material of the door. With a deep breath, it slowly pushed it open, its soft creak rising in a crescendo, carefully peeking its eyes through the crack… – and immediately locked eyes – er, screen? - with its boss.
Mr Tenna was back to his regular size, his arms wrapped around something, holding it close to his chest – and deadly serious.
Silence.
A soft rustling distracted Mr Tenna for a split second, as he manually turned down his volume, twisting one of his dials. His thumb rose with gravity, as he slid it with slow precision over his neck in a thinly veiled threat - before he suddenly stopped and looked down, closing his hand into a clenched fist. His screen shot back up, his strained smile stretching from side to side of his face.
“Just wait until we get an HR department-” he hissed between clenched teeth – the pippins’s blood ran cold as he slowly backed away from the door, closing it with a soft TV-Time branded ‘doorClick.mp3’.
Inside the room, your CRT held still for a beat, looking at the closed door as tiny steps hurried away – he really should remember to lock it next time – and nuzzled closer to you with a content sigh as they finally faded away.
Oh, sweet angel. Even if he longed to feel your laugh, your smile, your eyes on his screen…this was what he was truly made for.