Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Silence paired with the occasional sound of acid filling a glass echoed the room. The loud music and chattering lingered in your head, like a comforting buzz rather than an empty presence you've grown accustomed to for a couple of months now.

“Hell Of A Party” You heard your highness say, she swished her glass in her hand as if the acid alone were twirling around her fingers. 

“Tell me about it, this might be the most fun I’ve ever had on the job.” You say softly. Tired of the fun you've had not even an hour ago.

Queen smiles, still focused on the acid, “Are You Calling All My Other Parties: Snooze Fests?”

You roll your eyes playfully, “You know what I mean, Your Highness. I don’t usually indulge in these parties but I guess I just wanted to try something new.”

Queen huffed softly, seemingly deep in thought, or rather just enjoying the silence with her acid. She took a sip, savouring its pinchy taste and swallowing with a slight mouth pop. “Well It’s A Good Thing You Say That, Because I'm Letting You Go Lol” 

You chuckle at her joke, she was always saying slightly out of pocket things in the most dead serious tone like she meant it. Not a lot of people you know joke like her, making her a nice change of pace. “I'm Serious, Y/N, I’ll Text You The Info But You're Basically Just Gonna Babysit An Old Friend Of Mine From Now On. Starting Tomorrow” 

There’s a pause for a moment. The buzzing in your head suddenly stopped, giving you a moment to process what she just said. You wished for it to come back and distract you, surely you were so hazy that you simply couldn't understand her tone, right?? Before you could figure out what to say or even do with what was said, Queen stood from her chair.

“Well, Thanks For The Company But I Got Ctrl+Zs To Catch And You Certainly Do Too. Goodnight, Y/N”

You stood there, shocked, was it something you said? Were you not fun enough at the party? Did you accidentally give her the extra explosive glass than the normally eruptive one? No, you can't second guess her reason as to why. You bored her to death and probably embarrassed yourself at the function, this was probably a test to see if you got too comfortable and you failed! 

Of course that was it. She's getting rid of you because you lost focus, she's the queen for crying out loud. Only lightners like Noelle get to lay back and relax with her worldly presence. And yet you thought there was a place here for you. Foolish.

You're not sure when or how, but you found yourself at your room; probably when you were replaying every mistake you made in front of Queen. Taking the royal armour off, you stood in silence for a while, still feeling heavy even without the armour on. Whatever. Tomorrow morning will reveal whether or not you've royally screwed up.

Chapter Text

It’s nice at first, being where you know you belong, tucked under the sheets free of what issues you feel you have. Peacefully gone for hours as your body shuts down and disconnects from everything. Fears, mistakes, flaws, connections with others that could be wrecked at any moment. It’s all so irrelevant.

Until you wake up. 

Last night's conversation instantly came up in your head. The growing pit in your stomach arrives with it. Your mind wakes up quicker than your body so you lie in bed as your eyes adjust to the neon lights creeping in your room. It's been a while since you've had a morning like this, not even thinking solely of recent events but just waking up engulfed in every grievance you've ever experienced. ‘Don't think about it. You’ll slip quicker that way.’ Your thoughts surround you.

You begrudgingly get up and head to your CD player. Body aching and groaning with every heavy movement. Avoiding any contact you make with your phone might make getting ready easier; just in case Queen really is getting rid of you. Your physical music will do. It’s a nice way to feel grounded anyway, it somewhat helped the last couple of times. You click play, the CD is already in the case.

Your favourite album plays as your hands go through the motions, putting on appropriate clothes, brushing your teeth, and staring blanky in the mirror. On days like these, breakfast never sounds appealing nor stays down properly so you don't even consider it.

The music doesn't seem to reach you as your thoughts race however. Surely she was joking. If you were to work for someone else, where would you live? Queen makes sure everyone living in her mansion serves her in some way, so if you’re off protecting someone else, of what use are you?

You’ve worked for Queen for as long as you can remember, sure you would think that gives someone enough time to get to know a person but you weren't really good at that kind of thing. She always surprised you with crazy ideas and weird ways to cheer Noelle up, so to you she was a wild card. A wild card with a reason to every action however, she’s calculated, not impulsive.

Your mind snaps back to reality, packing protein bars in your bag to make up for breakfast, despite how badly you want to stop caring for yourself and allow the ditch in your stomach to consume you, there's a job to be done. Although you are unsure of what that job exactly is now.

You stare at your phone, tapping it to see a notification from Queen.

“Meet At The Great Hall at 8:00 AM

Your New Big Baby Is (Ant) Tenna

The Rest Will Be Discussed In Person”

Your eyes shut after reading that, clenching your lips together as your head falls. But only for a second.

Oh well, it honestly doesn't bother you anymore now that you think about it. Queen will explain everything once you’re all together. What was getting you so worked up anyhow? She never said anything about abandoning you or a poor performance on the job. Sometimes your brain tries to find a reason to be stressed, it’s very exhausting but who doesn't live in a constant state of confusing emotions that burst suddenly? It’s the darkners that can still thrive despite those emotions who stand out, and you are certainly thriving. Maybe not 5 minutes ago but that's besides the point.

The morning has already been lost, might as well forget this slight slip up and focus on the new opportunity Queen was so gracious to give you. You pat your pockets to make sure everything you need is in them, grab your bag, look in the mirror, and head out the door.

The walk to the Great Hall is just as it usually is, stopping at certain portraits of Queen that spit fire because she found it was ‘Cool’ and carefully avoiding her moving pottery on wheels. You wonder if Mr. Tenna is just as artistically inclined.

You reach your destination and check the time, 7:52. Perfect, enough time to calm down and turn on the charm. You stand at the entrance of the room feeling a hint of anxiety creep into your nerves. Your body is trained to keep absolutely still no matter any jitters that may occur. Would it really be that sad if you left forever? Queen is great and has dozens of other knights at her side; despite being the top of the ranks, you two were simply friendly. No deep emotional connection with each other whatsoever. What matters is her safety and she clearly has that covered, plus she got you another job. There's truly nothing to worry about after all.

Just as you come to that amazing conclusion, you hear chatter in the distance. A familiar voice alongside a booming one approach. You turn to see Queen and none other than Mr. Tenna himself.

The closer they get the more you have to turn your head upwards to properly face Mr. Tenna. 

‘I see why Queen called him big in that text, not sure about that baby part though but she calls everyone big children ha.’ you chuckle to yourself. The two stop their conversation and face you, to say you were towered over would be an understatement.

He was dressed in relaxed brown dress pants with fancy leather shoes a shade darker than the pants. A white button up shirt peaked underneath a maroon sweater vest, definitely not something he wore regularly as it looked new. You wonder if he has everything tailored due to his height, that’ll be a good conversation starter.

“Y/N! Good To See You're As Eager To Protect Tenny Over Here As You Were For Me” Queen says, leaning on Mr. Tenna's hips unable to reach his shoulders. She always liked to do that; lean on something or someone. Taking any chance that would allow her to rest a part of herself onto others, it’s honestly quite endearing.

“Of course, it would be my honour to help any friend of yours, Your Highness.” Queen reached her hand out expectantly, you took a hold of it and pecked it as you bowed. This was a routine you both followed as a greeting, she is royalty afterall.

You turn to face Mr. Tenna, your head tilts up to see him. Queen backs up as he crouches down to you and offers a hand, palm facing the side.

As he’s crouched down you get a pretty good view of his.. face(?) and upper half. His exterior casing was a nicely polished almost lavender colour. He certainly took care of his looks, even when he’s wearing the most casual thing you assume he’s worn in a while. You look at his..face? Screen? Whichever he liked to call it and noticed his smile (and quite exceptional nose) it was soft and polite, you let out a small breath you didn't know you were holding in.

“Why, hello Y/N! It's a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard much about you!” He spoke up, exuding a friendly and confident cadence. 

Without thinking, you take his ginormous hand holding the tips of his fingers as gently as you can muster, and turn it to softly kiss his knuckles bowing simultaneously in respect. His gloved hand feels smooth and soft, ‘premium cotton for sure,’ you think. His claws(??) peek out subtly, fingers twitching unexpectedly. His fingers curl towards yours a little, like you're holding a heavy part of him and he needs a break from the weight. Kind of like Queens habit.

“The honour is all mine Mr. Tenna, thank you for meeting with us here so early in the morning.” Your hands let go of one another.

There’s a slight hesitance before he speaks, Queen snorts watching his sudden change in confidence. 

“W-well you're welcome!! I didn't expect to be charmed this early in the morning hah! Queenie really knows how to pick em!” He gathers himself and stands back up, seemingly taller than you remember.

“Yes Yes, I Am Pretty Great. Now We Must Discuss How This Arrangement Will Work. I’ll Only Tell You The Basics And The Two Of You Nerds Will Figure Out The Details As We Prepare Y/Ns New Homepage” 

Thats right! Where the hell were you going to live if Mr. Tenna wasn't a resident in Cyber City? You mean sure, he would visit from time to time but only for brief moments to set up ads with Queen to stay ‘relevant’ from what you would hear. Hell, he never stayed long enough for you two to be properly introduced! And you’re the Top royal guard! 

Unless…

….

Wait…no…there’s no way…

Your lack of a response must have signaled to Tenna that you were stressing out to what Queen could have meant. He crouched down again, elbows resting on his knees with a show stopping smile, “Don’t worry your little face Y/N, where I live may not be all techy and new with Ipods and pagers, but it’s truly TOP NOTCH and certainly better than the alternative!!” 

There was so much to ask you became overwhelmed and simply listened for what other World shattering news was bound to come up.

Queens visor read ‘Bro’ as she came up close to the two of you leaning her arm on Tenna’s tall yet now reachable shoulder, “That’s Right, You’re Going To Live In An All Expenses Paid Home In The Tv World. I Have Every Swatchling Carrying Your Belongings As We Compute. Tenna Will Decide Your Hours But You’ll Drive Him To Work, Keep Him Safe During The Day (And Night Idk) Then Drive Him Back Home” 

When you hear that, it honestly doesn't seem that bad at all, when you SEE the guy you’re supposed to be protecting, however, it’s a little hard to rationalize why the damn 16-17 ft tall man would need protection. He has claws for Petes sake. CLAWS! Alas, that’s not the point nor helpful to think about right now. If Mr. Tenna needs a bodyguard then you will be the best and ONLY one he’ll have. No need to get transferred two times.

“It’s great to see that you're so excited you can’t even speak! We have no time to waste now, seeing how eager you are it would be a shame to keep you waiting! Let's go!” Tenna springs up and guides you with one hand to walk alongside him. Queen follows in her floating throne with a glass of acid in hand (not sure where she got that but ok). You and Tenna stop at the front gates as they open, turning to Queen to say your final goodbyes. 

“Toodleloo Darling” she says simply, her hand holding the glass was still. Seeing her in the palace unmoving looked almost like a picture, a final memory in a scrapbook framed with CDs, shining its holographic side and finished with a bow made of film tape.

“Goodbye Queen, I’ll see you around.”