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As soon as the door fell shut, they leaned their back against it, letting themselves slide down onto the floor in frustration. Who would have known that taking over Tenna’s therapy session could make somebody so miserable? They wanted so bad to to get up from their seat and comfort the big boss throughout the whole session, yet they were always told it wouldn’t be professional to do so, it would create too much suspicion. It didn’t help that Tenna himself broke down in tears several times today, and they could do nothing but watch, listen, and occasionally nod along, no matter how much it pained them to see him like this.
It couldn’t help itself, taking care of others was like second nature to it. When its not-yet-boyfriend-at-the-time fell ill not too long ago, it was the one to stay with him and nurse him back to health. It was the one rocking him to sleep, making him that special hot chocolate he liked so much, making sure he got enough rest. Not because it felt like it had to, but out of care, concern, love. Even if he had said some rather mean stuff to it, it couldn’t just leave him alone in the state he was at.
Pluey released a long groan, sounding like a badly played, drawn out trumpet note, holding his head in his hands. Even the ears of his costume seemed to bend backwards to reflect his current mood, as if they were a real part of him. It shouldn’t have touched him as much as it did, most of what his boss told him today wasn’t even comprehensible, and the few times it was, he had no idea what he was referring to. Of course, they cared about Tenna and wanted him to be happy, and not just so he wouldn’t yell at his employees for seemingly no reason.
“Pluey?”
Oh no. Their partner couldn’t see them like this! They were supposed to be the silly one, always smiling, always happy. Always groovy and never glooby, as the slogan went, whatever it actually meant. They quickly sat up straight, trying to appear like everything was fine, but their boyfriend already stood before them, wearing a worried expression on his face.
Attempting to convince Battat, and by extension itself, that it had, indeed, not been mere moments away from crying, Pluey raised its still gloved hands to its face, pointing at its costume’s head. Of course everything was fine, it was smiling after all!
Battat stepped just a bit closer, the cat trying to inch away against the closed door, all the while it nervously waved its paws in front of itself as it explained how totally okay and definitely happy it was, all in the form of a hectic jazz solo.
“Pluey, I know you”, the smaller one spoke up as he placed himself next to them, “I can tell something’s up.” While he was never the best at comforting others, he learned that sometimes it was enough to just stay with somebody when they were upset. Still, it wasn’t often that he saw his partner this way, so it couldn’t hurt to try at least.
“Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but uh…”, unsure what to do, Battat leaned a little closer and put his hand on the other’s shoulder, “I’m here if you do. Uh, want to talk, I mean.” He couldn’t help being this nervous, comforting others seemed to come so naturally to both his partners that by comparison, his attempts always seemed to fall flat. He always had the feeling he would sound more condescending than anything.
When no answer came back, he retreated his hand and started fidgeting with his fingers awkwardly, bringing his knees up to his chest and mimicking Pluey in the process.
The Shadowguy didn’t look at his boyfriend, just laid his chin on his knees as another sigh escaped him. He was grateful he wouldn’t have to say anything, and not just because he wasn’t sure how to put his thoughts into words (or notes for that matter), without everything being overly complicated and all over the place. He didn’t like feeling like he did right now, and trying not to think about it seemed like a good way to, well, not think about what made him upset in the first place. And nobody would have to get sad in the process! It all made perfect sense.
Battat now scooted ever so slightly closer so he could comfortably reach the top of the other’s still costumed head, gently patting it. Maybe that could help, he thought. After a second, Pluey released what sounded like a cat’s purr, indirectly telling the small one that what he was doing was nice and welcome. He smiled slightly, at least he was able to do something right.
“Hey Plue?”
The cat tilted its head only slightly to be able to at least look in his companion’s general direction.
“Do you maybe wanna, uh. Go over to the couch? ‘S more comfortable than the floor, hm?”
Pluey thought for a few moments, then slowly nodded. The couch sounded nice. Anything soft might take its mind off of things.
The Pippins arose from the ground, a short groan escaping him, and nervously presented his hand to the other, an awkward smile on his lips. The shadow accepted just a moment later and gave him his hand, letting himself get pulled onto his feet.
Over at the couch, Battat sat down first and lightly patted his lap, to which Pluey smiled underneath their mask and quickly obliged, laying over him like an overgrown cat. Or perhaps more akin to a large dog, unaware of its size, yet sees itself as a perfectly fine lap dog. Though if they had to choose how to describe themselves, Pluey would definitely choose the former.
Immediately upon contact, they relaxed a little bit, and they did so even more when their partner started patting their head in a gentle rhythm. This was nice. Just what they needed.
“Doesn’t it get stuffy in that costume?”, the green one asked after a while, not stopping with the headpats. The other hummed in response, then simply shrugged. It depended on the day most of the time. They loved their outfit more than anything – besides their partners of course – and if they could they would wear it all day long, but the microphone paws could sometimes get in the way, especially when they wanted to grab something. At times they wished they had real paws instead.
“Really? Cause I can’t wear mine for more than an hour until I overheat, heh…”, he shifted his gaze sideways, cheeks flushing in slight embarrassment, “but I guess you’re well aware of that…”
The Shadowguy chuckled a bit as he nodded, then turned around to face his boyfriend, his head now placed right in the middle of the other’s lap. He hesitated for a second, but then slowly pulled off his costume’s head as well as the mittens, unceremoniously discarding them onto the floor, just to then gently place his hand on the Pippins’ cheek, a fond smile now dancing over his lips. Battat’s eyes widened for a moment as he flushed in a slightly deeper shade of green, and he responded with a shy smile of his own, glad he could make him feel at least a little better again. With a slightly shaky hand, he reached over to do as the other did, and placed it on his cheek, slowly caressing it.
Pluey released another breath they’d been holding in, leaning into the other’s touch as they hummed contentedly. It felt nice being the one to receive affection and attention for once, and especially when it came from the green Pippins. He was usually hesitant and closed off about physical affection, although he had gotten more comfortable with it over time. And while he still struggled to fully accept these gestures, mostly due to his self-worth issues, they knew he did enjoy every second of it, but just couldn’t properly express himself sometimes. Yes, he still resisted from time to time, but not as much as he used to.
The taller felt Battat’s fingers carefully combing through his hair and lightly scratching the back of his head, to which he started purring gently, a light blush creeping up on his otherwise shadowed face. He hadn’t paid too much attention to his surroundings, just focusing on how nice the other’s touch felt as he sighed once more, his smile widening with each moment until it resembled the number three. Though, he regained his focus when he felt a gentle breath hit his skin, and mere moments after, an equally gentle kiss being placed on his cheek.
They felt their face warm up, and when they looked up again, their partner had averted his eyes, a mint green blush adorning his face as he tried his best to keep his composure. Pluey giggled, placing their hand on the side of his chin and turning his face to make him look at them again. A light head tilt was all they had to do to successfully fluster him once more, flashing a playful smile. They pointed at their cheek a few times, watching their boyfriend’s face intensify in color, him shifting his eyes from side to side as if checking to make sure nobody was watching them.
A little more hesitant than before, Battat leaned down again, closing his eyes as he approached the other and leaving a few light kisses on its cheek, each with a little more confidence than the last. Pluey could only giggle, its smile spreading even further until its cheeks started to hurt slightly. The more attention the little one gave it, the more excited it became, until it couldn’t hold itself back anymore.
With one swift movement, Pluey grabbed its boyfriend and pulled him close to its chest, so that he now lay on top of it. The Pippins was only able to let out a quick yelp, staring wide-eyed at his partner as his face’s hue resembled that of his clothes, as it so frequently did when he was as flustered as he was at the moment. It nudged his head with its own, humming in joy as it heard the other chuckle lightly as well.
“Yeah okay, I get it, ya big goofball”, he tried to sound annoyed, but wasn’t able to disguise the genuine love and affection he felt for them present in his tone of voice. Pluey continued to hold him in their arms as a comfortable silence fell over the two. They loved those quiet moments, the moments where everything was calm, no alarms, no calls to action, just them enjoying the other’s company. Even if those moments were rather rare, especially with the smaller one of their partners, whenever they did happen, Pluey always cherished them. After all, it wasn’t often they got to stay this close to him for an extended period of time.
The Shadowguy, still overflowing with joy, now held Battat a bit tighter, nuzzling his nose against the space between the little Pippins’ eyes and mouth, with an ever present grin adorning his face. Without another thought, he quickly pressed his lips against the other’s, an action that came so suddenly, it stunned him for a few seconds after they parted again. When he regained his composure again with a short head shake, he let out a nervous chuckle and turned his head away, the only feasible thing he could do while still being held captive by the other’s embrace. Not that he’d necessarily want to leave just yet, it was still purely instinctual to at least attempt an escape.
“Awfully affectionate today, are we?”
A smile and a nod from underneath him. Then, it released one of its hands just to point in its own face again, this time on its mouth with a light pink blush accompanying it. And again, the smaller one stuttered as he flushed in a deep green, taking in a deep breath.
“Wh- a-and insatiable too, apparently…”
Pluey smirked, tilting its head a little bit as it waited. Battat sighed, more to try and prepare himself than anything, and finally he leaned forward again, his lips shaking as they met with the other’s. His eyelids twitched a bit out of nervousness when he held them close, but after a second he brought his hands up to cup his partner’s head in them, slowly caressing its cheeks. Pluey relaxed as it melted into the kiss, embracing the little one as much as it could without squeezing him too tightly, it didn’t want to risk him being unable to breathe after all.
They broke apart for a second to catch their breath, when the taller leaned in again for another kiss, which the other didn’t seem to mind, gently letting his eyes flutter close again. Wow. He never knew just how wonderful this could feel. Another content sigh escaped him, Pluey smiling against his lips upon hearing how much he seemed to enjoy their little time together. They didn’t even remember how they ended up like this anymore, but it must not have been too important anyway.
This time Battat leaned back, totally out of breath. With half lidded eyes, he gazed at his partner, who began to purr as it saw how smitten he looked. If it were at all possible, his pupils would probably have formed into the shape of hearts by now, in addition to expanding so much that the whites of his eyes were barely visible.
“Havin fun, youse two?”
“Jongler!” Battat jumped at his second partner’s voice, turning over to see the Zapper leaning over the back rest of the couch. Pluey merely chuckled, then greeted the other with a wave and a saxophone note, seemingly unbothered by the rather sudden interruption. It sat up to make room for their third, draping its arm over the Pippins’ shoulder.
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
The tallest laughed, moving forward to join the two on the couch, “Sorry, Battsy”, they then responded, also scooting over to be a bit closer to their lovers. Battat only huffed, crossing his arms, “You two are lucky that I love you”, he mumbled, once again flushing in such a bright green, he could be mistaken for battery acid.
The shadow smiled as it leaned into the smallest again, nuzzling into the crook of his shoulder as it hugged him from behind, crossing its arms over his waist. It heard him grumble a little when Jongler put their arm around the two of them, cuddling into Battat’s other side.
“Wait, Battsy??”