Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Autumn, 1985

The air was chill and crisp, and with more than just the approaching winter. Despite the clear sky, the light breeze, and the beautiful, vibrant leaves that littered the quaint suburban street, a sense of foreboding hung stagnant in the air like a fog.

Two men approached from opposite sides of the street. Each wore full camouflage, heavy boots, and a cap with the words ‘draft officer’ printed across the front, but that was where the similarities between them ended.

The first was human. He stood about six feet and one inch, with a build that screamed military service. Remnants of close-shaven black hair remained speckled over his nape and above his ears. The only thing out-of-place about his look were his UV sunglasses, which reflected pink in one lens and yellow in the other.

The second man was not human. He was far shorter than the first, yet an average five foot four inches, and his frame was lithe and smooth. His camouflage was black and grey instead of green and khaki like the human’s, but temporary reflective green stripes were draped around his neck and wrists. He could have looked normal enough, if not for the floating, paper-white six-sided die that would have been his head, as well as his piercing yet frighteningly large green eyes.

The two approached each other, gazes sharp and untrusting. The monster gripped a messenger bag at his side, and he quirked an eyebrow when he noticed the human carrying a similar one.

“What are you doing here, monster?” the human spat, a threatening edge to his voice.

The monster narrowed his eyes, but chose not to escalate, slowly showing off the contents of his bag. It was filled with letters, each stamped with a purple and gold wax seal.

“I am here to deliver a draft notice,” the die-headed man said simply, seeing no reason to aggravate the other.

The human recognized this and backed off, and he brandished a letter of his own with a faded blue presidential stamp. The two looked down at the addresses briefly, then both turned to face the house that they’d ended up in front of.

“..there must be some sort of misunderstanding, is your letter for this household?”

“It is. How odd. I’ll report it to my supervisors if it’s an error, but I still intend to check.”

The monster nodded, a twisting feeling settling in his gut. He felt like he recognized this house..

As the human approached the front door, the monster found his attention drawn to a movement over the white picket fence. His heart dropped as he recognized the couple on the other side.

Anthony Tenna and Samson Addison were an odd sight beside each other.

Samson- the human of the two- stood at only four feet despite his much larger personality. His hair and eyes were a deep, solid black, and his tan from the previous summer had begun to fade back to his almost abnormally pale skin. A dazzling grin showed beneath a long, beak-like nose, the only imperfection being the gold canine on his left side. He was a successful businessman and a charming person, always wearing either a suit or jeans and a dress shirt with rolled sleeves, even outside of his work at the auto shop he owned or the show he co-hosted with his partner.

Said partner stood over Samson’s shoulder as he watered the plants, his top set of arms draped loosely around his neck.

Tenna (as he preferred to go by rather than his first name) was, as his name echoed, essentially an ant. Though, if an ant were about three times the size of the average human and wasn’t quite as insect-like. He walked on two legs, both of which ended in hooked feet but were otherwise sturdy, and had a more human-like appearance than one would expect. His body was covered in a clean, neat white fuzz, including the thorax that couldn’t easily be hidden in any of his clothes. Silver patterns adorned his skin, but most of these were covered by his clothes. His wardrobe matched his partner’s, but each of his shirts was tailored for the extra set of arms that sprouted from his sides just beneath his ribcage. He had no eyes, but the antennae atop his head offered accurate input from everything around him, granting him essentially perfect vision. His nose was similar to Samson’s- but it was hidden better by the muzzle-like shape of his face- as was his smile with matching gold mandibles and fangs hidden just behind his lips. He was a star. Anyone with a television in their home knew the name Mr. Ant Tenna. Of course, they knew of his partner too, but both men were cautious to keep their relationship private, considering the times.

The only people who knew about their marriage were their closest friends, and this included the officer standing on the other side of their fence.

Battat’s heart lurched as he gripped the letter in his hand. He couldn’t do this to them. The war between humans and monsters was already dire enough on its own, what with the humans outnumbering monsters hundreds to one. He couldn’t bear to force these two apart.

Battat had worked with Tenna for years before enlisting, and the host had always been nothing but kind to him. Sure, Tenna had his moments when he got frustrated and lashed out, but who didn’t? Those were infrequent occurrences, and the rest of the time he was the sweetest, most caring, most delightful person to be around, especially with Samson by his side. He had saved Battat from a life of shady jobs and sketchy business, offering him a job at the studio and letting him stay until he got back on his feet.

How awfully Battat was repaying him.

Chapter Text

Samson shut the hose off and looked back towards the house as the doorbell rang. He felt a sinking in his chest suddenly and wasn’t entirely sure why, but he turned to give Tenna a quick, soft kiss as he shifted out of his hold.

“What do we think it is this time? More fanmail?”

“No, no, I opened a P.O. box on Monday, all the fanmail will be there,” Tenna dismissed, stretching his arms with a sigh before laying down in the grass and looking up at his husband. He smiled and ran a hand over Spamton’s back softly. “Maybe a trick-or-treater got a bad case of time-blindness.”

Spamton chuckled and only moved away from his touch when the motion was finished. “Well, whatever the case, I’ll deal with it. Be right back, lovebug.”

Tenna chittered softly as a blush overtook his face, and he put a hand over his mouth to hide his grin. Spamton smiled in return at his reaction, and he slipped inside, sighing as the warmth of the inside soothed him.

The doorbell rang again, snapping him out of his happy daze, and he grumbled to himself as he went and opened the door. “Hello?”

“Samson Addison?”

Samson bristled as he took in the man’s appearance, and his heart dropped. No. No, this couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t fight in the war.

He’d been openly and adamantly against the disparity towards monsters ever since the conflicts between them and humans began. This was a surprise to no one, seeing as how his co-star and many people in his community were monsters, but his influence thanks to the show and his own popularity had been nothing to scoff at, and he’d sparked quite a few protests and activist groups in the years before the war was even considered.

And even if he hadn’t been one of the most known monster rights activists in the state, how could he stand to betray his husband?

Tenna was everything to Samson. They’d found each other when they were both down on their luck; Samson struggling with getting enough money to keep the lights on for him and his siblings, and Tenna in a depressive spiral over how far his show was falling behind. When they struck that deal, it was like a switch flipped. Suddenly, they were thriving together. They were on top of the world, never to fall to anything so long as they had each other.

As far as Samson was concerned, Tenna was a godsend. It was because of his kindness and generosity that Samson and his family didn’t have to spend their lives in the slums. Even when he was angry or frustrated to no end, he never took it out on Samson, and despite being so much bigger, stronger, and more popular than the human, Tenna had never once considered mistreating him.

Samson had seen how the turmoil between humans and monsters affected the latter population through Tenna. He’d seen the way people shot Tenna glares and muttered behind his back. He’d read the nasty, hateful letters that Tenna tried to hide from him. He’d felt how Tenna had clung to him tighter some nights, terrified of being abandoned for what he was. He hated all of it.

If he joined this war on the side of the humans, he’d be fighting against everything he stood for. Everything he believed in. Everything he loved.

He was ripped out of his thoughts and back into the present when the officer loudly and pointedly cleared his throat.

“S-sorry, I.. yeah, that’s.. That’s me..”

There was no use trying to lie about his identity at this point. His dread-filled pause would have been enough to tip anyone off even if he wasn’t one of the most recognizable people in the area. The officer nodded and handed him the letter, seemingly uncaring of how the poor man was dying inside right in front of him.

“You are expected to appear at the Ebbott Military Entrance Processing Station by this upcoming Sunday. Failure to comply will result in heavy fines and possible arrest. You will remain responsible for any financial obligations-”

He continued droning on, but Samson had fully zoned out, staring at the seal of the letter in his hand with abject misery. “...mhm…”

He stood in the doorway for far too long, his mind simultaneously racing and producing no viable thoughts, until he realized that the officer had left some time ago. He shut the door despondently and leaned back against it, his hand dropping to his side as he gazed up at the ceiling pleadingly.

How on earth was he supposed to tell Tenna?

Well, it turned out he didn’t have to. Not directly, anyway.

When he came to his senses, he realized that the soft sound of crying was emanating from the dining room. He hurriedly pulled himself together and stepped around the corner, his eyes laden with concern.

Tenna sat at the head of the dining room table, sniffling and rubbing his eyes with the fuzz of his arm. He had shrunk a few sizes as well, now sitting at barely the same height Samson would be were he also sitting.

Well, if something was already upsetting him, Samson wouldn’t pile it on further.

“Aw, Ant, baby, lovebug, what’s the matter?”

Tenna jolted at Samson’s voice, which was rare and frankly concerning seeing as he could usually sense his presence using his antennae. He quickly wiped his eyes again and folded his lower set of arms on the table.

“I-I…”

A sharp spike was driven through both of their hearts as they each noticed the other’s letter at the same time.

Tenna let out a horrified sob and shrank another twelve sizes, and Samson dropped his letter to rush forward and hold him.

“Hey, hey, Annie, look at me. It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart, I promise..”

He scooped Tenna up into his cupped hands and pulled him close to his chest, forcing down the lump in his throat. Tenna clung to the front of his shirt, his antennae drooping as tears soaked into the fabric before him.

“*snf* Wh-what are we.. gonna *hic* do?”

“I.. I don’t know.. I’ll think of somethin’..” Samson mumbled, rubbing his thumb over the patch of fluff at the back of Tenna’s head. “Don’t worry, baby.. I’m not gonna let them pull us apart.”