Chapter Text
Maxx shutters as he sobs into his hands angrily. God, why couldn't he have been born a boy? Maxx seethes as rubs his face roughly, trying to get all of his tension out. It's so stupid that he's getting so upset about something so small… And now he's crying in the janitor's closet like a loser!! Everything sucks right now, Maxx thinks. He wipes his tears off onto his white work shirt… Maxx looks down at his nametag and sighs.
“Shit..” Maxx huffs, running a hand through his brunette hair.
oh, right. His shift is gonna be over in about 10 minutes. He should probably get cleaned up so he can go home… thank god he gets paid well.
Maxx stands up and dusts off himself, wiping his eyes and trying to gather his composure so he can get back to work. Taking big deep breaths, he puts his glasses on, turns around and- THUNK “Ow- Shit!” Maxx curses, looking up at what he hit his head on with confusion.
“Ah! Uhm.. We'll if it isn't my favorite employee! Couldn't help but notice you… here.” Tenna states a bit awkwardly, but clearly a bit worried. His screen seemingly a bit pink in embarrassment. You look up at him with a shocked look as he clears his throat before continuing.
“I heard some uh-... crying.? here… I surely don't wanna have my best worker just sitting here moping about before he leaves!” Tenna states, wrapping an arm around Maxx's shoulder. “How about I get you a cold cup of water? That'll make up for all those tears” Tenna smiled at Maxx, having to lean down because of his own (and Maxx's) height. Maxx glances away from Tenna as he fixes his glasses.
“Uhm… Sure… thank you, Mr. Tenna..” Maxx says softly, not being used to seeing the showman up in person, with him normally being much too busy for his own assistant. Only seeing him getting prepped to be on live or nose deep in paperwork with Maxx in the next room doing the same.Tenna grinned wider as he perked up, clasping his hands together. “Perfect!” Tenna says before abruptly leading the two of them out of the closet, with his hand on Maxx's shoulder.
Maxx shifts as they walk to the break room. He feels awkward, almost in the sudden presence of his boss. Especially being that he was crying pathetically in the janitor's closet just a few seconds ago.
The two walk into the break room. Tenna greets Ramb with a wave. “Good afternoon! Could you get the both of us some water, please?” Tenna glances down at Maxx, motioning for him to sit in the bar chair next to him as he sits down. Ramb nods softly and turns around to get the fresh water from the tap. Maxx picks at the seam of his sleeve as he sits down.
“You don't gotta do this, I'm fine, trust me. I’ve just had a bad day.” Maxx says, trying to dismiss Tenna’s concern. Tenna shrugs as Ramb sets down their glasses of water, each with a little TV Time themed umbrella on the straw. “Don’t we all?” Tenna chuckles “What is life without those moments, right? Doesn't mean you shouldn't have to deal with it by yourself, kid!”
Tenna counters with a telling smirk that says he’s had to deal with something similar. Maxx nods lightly, still feeling awkward, but Tenna on the other hand, is the complete opposite now that they’ve sat down at the bar. “Yeah, but still. I shouldn’t let personal stuff interfere with my work life.” Maxx sighs and rubs his hands against his pants anxiously. “Slows stuff down and makes it hard to focus on important th-”
Tenna interrupts, making Maxx jump a little. “Hey now, who says that what you’re upset about isn't important? All of my employees deserve to feel comfortable here! And if it’s bothering you this much, you prolly need a friend to talk to.” Tenna grins, clearly wanting to be that ‘friend’. “But, but,but! I can’t make you say anything if you really don’t want to, of course!” Tenna pauses before continuing.
“You know… if it makes you feel better, I used to have lots of bad days.. LOTS.. I would yell at employees and fire people for no good reason! I’d force people to watch me because… because well, I was lonely.” Tenna chuckles a little embarrassed as he continues. “But after talking and getting put back together (literally AND metaphorically) I felt a lot better, and now I’m SO much better!”
Tenna stretches his arms out to emphasise his point, making his chair almost tip over due to him dramatically opening his arms, making Maxx snicker a little bit.
“I don't do any of that stuff anymore.. I still get urges but you know what’s worse? Losing people you care about.” Tenna states, swirling the water in the glass with his straw before he tenses up a bit and stammers for a moment. “Oh ah-uh sorry about that! I don’t mean to talk so much! I got a little off-topic, didn’t I? Haha! Sorry about that!”
Tenna blurts out, shrinking about an inch, not wanting to run Maxx off from his yapping. Maxx shakes his head and leans on the bar, taking a sip of his drink before replying. “No, no you’re good! Usually I’m the one carrying conversations. It’s nice not to be the only one talking a lot, you know? Also, I heard about the ‘knight incident’. I’m really sorry that happened to you. You make the stitches work though”
Maxx muses, pointing at the obvious black stitches on his bright red overcoat. Tenna perks up a little, looking down at the stitches. He runs a finger along the seam. “You really think so, huh?” Tenna flushes a bit, enjoying the complement. The two sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, drinking the cold water from their glasses. Finally, Maxx says “The reason I was crying is kinda stupid.. To me, at least. It’s just embarrassing”
Maxx chuckles, pulling his bangs out from one of his eyes, tucking the hair behind his ear. Tenna leans a bit closer, listening closely, with a hand on his ‘chin’. “If you couldn’t already tell, I’m transgender. I kinda feel like no one takes who I am seriously because of it, you know? People don’t really care about people like me. I don’t like crying about it though… It’s embarassing.” Maxx sighs, taking a drink of his water, finishing it off.
Tenna nods, the top of his screen furrowing slightly in thought. He sits up straight and shrugs. “I couldn’t tell! Lots of employees here express themselves in many, many different ways. You’re you and well. You can’t change that!” Tenna hesitates
“Or- uh.. Can you? Is that a-uh human thing that I got wrong?” Tenna looks around embarrassed, scratching the top of his head. Maxx chuckles. “I mean, not entirely. Surgery exists, but not for personality or way of life changes.” Maxx shrugs, grinning as he fiddles with the umbrella on his straw. After a few more cups of water and the occasional soda, the two exchange glances before Maxx averts his eyes.
He notices Ramb getting ready to leave. Maxx suddenly feels a bit more anxious. He pulls out his phone to check the time. “Oh shit! It’s way past the end of my shift. I’m sorry for keeping you here! You should prolly go home. I’ll close this place out with the others. If I made you miss any important paperwork, you know that you can just let me handle it” Maxx panics, getting up from his seat.
Tenna straightens in his seat, realizing that it had been almost a whole hour of the two talking. “H-Hold on!” Tenna exclaimed without thinking, making Maxx pause. Maxx looks back at Tenna. “I- uhm, well.”
Tenna sputtered. “I really enjoyed our time together is all.. If you’d like to hang out like this outside of work, uhm.. I'm free this weekend if you are..” Tenna suggests timidly, his antennas twirling together. Maxx stares back, his face swiftly becoming flushed red. “Uh-uhm Yes of course! I’d uh-id really uh” Maxx stumbles over his words before giving up and running to his office to finish work and help close out the studio for the night.