Work Text:
It was a new day, and there was always work to be done.
Which Tenna has done well, albeit quieter than usual. He's going through the motions, and it was noticeable to everyone but they dare not say anything. Especially not when earlier this morning, he announced that he was rescinding his decision on giving everyone overtime work.
The best thing to do was to accept this without question, and not do or say anything to make him take it back. And so everyone is being very cordial, and making sure to stay out of his way. This normally would irritate Tenna, but for today in particular, he is glad to be given some space and be left alone.
Right now, Tenna held in his hand the schedule for this week. He was idly going over it as he headed to his office, muscle memory walking him there without having to look up.
When he enters, he hears a cheerful "Heya!" From across from the room. He lowers the paper and sees his desk, and next to it, with his hands clasped behind his back was Spamton.
Tenna doesnt reciprocate this. Instead, he closes the door behind him, and walks towards his desk. He sits in his chair, and opens his drawers to pull out a pen and paper, promptly writing down notes for the schedule.
"You forgot your [fresh tart]!" Spamton says, as he gingerly places the small box holding the tart on his desk. Tenna continues writing. He doesn't even glance at it, or at him.
Infact, Tenna hasn't said a word to him since yesterday.
They slept in eachother's embrace for who knows how long, but when Spamton woke up, he was gone. Being left with nothing but a lingering warmth and an empty space on the bed.
"You kinda [Left turn] without a word yesterday. And you haven't said anything to me today... I'm starting to think you're [Enraged? Call now!] at me!" Spamton laughs, but still gets nothing from Tenna.
"Hellooo? [Tenant]? Haha, watch out! Old age might be getting to you if you're having [hearing problems] already!" He says while laughing louder this time.
"You might need to consider getting your [antennaes] checked!!"
And yet still nothing.
Even being annoying isn't working. Spamton sighs "...Are we [Seriously] not going to talk about it?"
Spamton debates leaving, but it was then that he was finally graced with Tenna's voice "What is there to talk about?" he said matter of factly.
Spamton was happy to hear Tenna speak, and so he rushes to respond. But he didn't exactly have a good answer prepared "Well-! ...I actually dont know! But we fell asleep holding eachother, and now you're [No time to talk] to me so there's something right?"
He was met with silence again.
"..Is because I saw you [Cry]ing? Hey look, I wasn't going to tease you about it. Hell, I'll [never] even bring it up again! [My lips are sealed], like it never happened!"
"..."
"Is it the [hug]? It was barely a hug anyway! It wasn't..." he trails off, running out of steam on this one sided conversation.
The only sound filling the room was the scribbling of the pen as Tenna kept focus on his work.
Spamton groans, rubbing his face in frustration. "You're killing me [Tenant]!" he exclaims "Come on! Scream- Shout at me!! Just say something to me!"
Tenna abruptly stops writing "You want to talk about yesterday?" He asks, eerily calm
"Yes!!"
"Okay, fine." He drops the pen, but keeps his gaze staring down at the paper "..Was what I saw real?"
Spamton wasn't expecting that curveball "[What ever] do you mean?"
"The cat, with the pink and yellow eyes. Was that real?"
"I..." Spamton pauses, that fact that Tenna remembered Friend at all surprised him. They must've left a big impression on him. But now, he's unsure if he can confirm their existence... It might be better if he could convince him they never existed instead.
"I didn't see anything like that! Maybe you imagined it? [Who knows] how long you were lying on that floor for. The mind just makes you [seeing glasses] stuff sometimes- I know how that goes!" He lies, giving the best reasoning he could think of.
"....I see." Tenna says with a flat tone as his head slumps down. His face was hidden, making it difficult to discern if he was pleased with this answer or not. And for every second that passes, Spamton struggles more and more to keep his smile up.
"Spamton." Tenna finally says after his long contemplation
"Yes?-" Spamton quickly answers, eager to get back to conversing. Though, he may rethink this notion in a second.
"Tell me the truth." the demand was spoken out as Tenna lifts his head up, revealing the twisting black and white spiral on his screen.
Spamton, immediately recognizing the image, squeezes his eyes shut in a panic "Whoa!- [Hay]- Hey come on! You don't need to do that haha!! I am telling the truth- [honest]! I'm an open book!!-" he nervously stammers as he begins to back away
"I don't believe you. You're a habitual liar and a con-artist, traits that I can ignore on a good day. But right now, I need you to be honest with me." He calmly yet coldly states, as he gets up from his seat. He strides at a steady pace towards Spamton, who has his back against the door, blindly trying to find the knob
"And if you look at me-" He grabs Spamton with one hand, stopping his escape attempt. And then he lifts him up, pinning him against the door, to be at eye level with him "I know you will say nothing but the truth."
Spamton squirms in his hold "E-even if I was [liar]- you gotta understand, there are some things I- I just cant tell you!" He says as he keeps his head turned as far away as he can. He's never fought it this much before, it must be a truly big secret. One that Tenna has to know.
"You tried to convince me that I hallucinated all of that. It's a mockery of my intelligence. And I don't accept mockery from anyone, not even you." He clutches Spamtons lower jaw with his other hand, forcing him to face him. Though despite this, Spamton still keeps his eyes closed at the very least.
"Open your eyes, or I will tear them open." Even on the threat, Spamton doesn't budge. The more he tries to fight this the more Tenna feels the urgency to know what is it that he's trying so hard to hide.
He lifts up the pink and yellow shades, seeing more clearly the intensity that he's putting to keep his eyelids squeezed shut. Now that just wont do. He uses his claws to carefully pry them open, just a crack will be fine.
And when Spamton feels the light pour into his vision, he tries desperately to keep his gaze to the side, away from the image. But even so, it was futile.
At the corner of his eye he can still see it, that spiral. Although blurry as it may be, it was recognizable, and alluring as ever. It's like a whirlpool slowly dragging him in, even more so now that he doesn't have his shades to put a small barrier between them.
This has happened to him several times before, maybe more, but he would have no way of knowing how many of these encounters Tenna erased from his mind. The details of what happens during them are usually very hazy.
The ones he can recall the most, are where Tenna will have enough of his shenanigans for that day, and do this as a way to silence him or have him simply leave.
There are a few times where Tenna just talks to him, or asks him things. The details are of course lost to Spamton, but from what he can tell, they go on for hours.
And there is a couple of times, that Spamton swears he can remember some faint glimpses of. Where he was put under, and all Tenna did was hold him. But those times are so fuzzy, they almost feel like a dream. A lovely dream. He hopes they weren't a dream. He hopes.
Although this was never done to him with his permission, Spamton didn't mind it. Infact he enjoyed it, and found it very endearing.
Sure he'll give simple commands to others here or there, but to Spamton? It was very different than simple commands. He was important, important enough to Tenna that he'll do this to him.
He gets his full undivided attention from him, he gets to be with him. And if memory serves well, to even be held close to him, like no other. Very endearing indeed.
And plus, it was not unpleasant. The sensation is something he can never really get used to. It's not like going into a peaceful slumber.
It's more like, complete and utter control.
The strings that he's tied to become owned by Tenna instead. For a moment they loosen, and he feels a great ease. Taut wires no longer restrain him.
And when he feels a slight tug as they wind around Tenna's fingers, he remains composed. The strings ever so gently re-tighten, but it was not uncomfortable. Infact, it feels so safe and secure. All in the palm of Tenna's hands.
He'd much prefer this over the usual strings. His whole world centers Tenna after all. If he has to be a puppet, he'd prefer being one for the tv before him. One that moves and speaks only for him. Even now, despite his stalling, the idea brings him a joy like no other.
Before he knows it, his eye is slowly drawn to the screen. He feels himself being pulled into the whirpool, no longer able to resist its strength. His other eye even cracks open on its own, so he can better see the spiral before him.
Falling, falling, he feels himself falling into the ever winding center.
Tenna had already left go his eyelid, seeing as they kept open on their own. Spamton's eyes open more, no longer squinting, in order to fully drink in the vision before him.
It takes away his thoughts like an unwinding spool, pulling them into the spiral. Spamton's head feels more and more floaty by the second as his mind is overcome by the swirling video. That's all there is, that's all there ever was, only the spiral.
His strings loosen as ownership passes on, stiff limbs are able to relax for the first time in a long while. He lets out a long breath of air he didn't realize he was holding. His head lolls to the side as the relaxation reaches his neck too. He feels so light, so free.
Tenna knows he has him once he recognizes that half-lidded tranquil stare. He lowers Spamton's shades back over his eyes as he says "Finally, now was that so hard?"
Spamton only manages the smallest, almost imperceptible, shake of his head. It wasn't hard at all, infact it was easy to fall into this state. The same ease as putting on a well worn coat, one that keeps you warm on the coldest of days.
"Now then, tell me the truth. Was that thing I saw real?"
There was a pause.
Spamton feels a faint uncomfortable tingle in the back of his head. Like a reminder of why he tried to fight this in the first place. The reason escapes him, but it does the job of conflicting with his need to answer. His mouth slightly opens, but only a weak noise escapes, a small breath of air that was squeezed from his lungs.
Hesitance. Even now. Tenna's mouth twitches, feeling mockery from this act of defiance.
"I said- was what I saw real?" He repeats the command as he tightens his grip ever so slightly. Spamton gasps as he feels a sensation similar to a string tugging at his throat, strongly compelling him to answer.
"[[A]]-[[A]]- [[Affirmative]]!"
"I knew it."Tenna uttered through gritted teeth, annoyed that it took this long to get confirmation of his suspicions "And just what are they?"
Spamton's leans his head back against the door, his neck tensing up as he strains to respond "Th- they- they're- [Hyperlink blocked]"
"No- dont give me that bullshit, tell it to me in words!"
Spamton looked almost confused by the instruction. His eyebrows crease as croaks out feeble sounds, the best response he can muster.
"Answer me!" Tenna impatiently shouts, never having to demand an answer so insistently like this before. Words usually roll off of Spamton's tongue, but this time was different.
As is apparent, when he notices there is a clear struggle happening within him. Spamton shudders as he feels a second set of strings tug at him, the ones that hold him at all times. Seems like even while under trance, they were never really gone. But it was nice to believe they were, just for a moment.
Words get caught in his throat as the strings pull him the other way, demanding discretion. It's like his mind was being tugged from both sides, he was split between two devotions. One from his bygone deal, and one from his heart.
Static fills in his shades.
When he opens his mouth to say something, his head gives a twitch as a glitch quickly pops up over his face. It was only for a second, but he already seemed so exhausted by it. This was a strenuous task for him.
He made another attempt, and the same happens. A quick spark of glitches once again.
It was only on the third try, that this would stop being a temporary interruption.
Tenna watches as glitches overcome his entire head, and partly even his body. He shakes and twitches as this happens, he looks like he's in pain. Is this what he meant by "some things I just can't tell you"? He was being literal?
"Stop!" Tenna shouts, not wanting this to go on any longer.
In that moment, the glitches fade away, and Spamton gives a pained gasp before heavily panting in attempts to catch his breath. Tenna can feel him shivering underneath his hold.
Tenna cups his cheek, both in sympathy and in wanting to help to support his weary head. It's not like he's never inflicted pain on him before. But this, this was never meant to hurt him.
Quite the opposite infact. He always puts him in a trance for selfish reasons, yes, but its never supposed to be a painful or even bad experience for him.
It feels like a failure on his part for letting it happen.
This, shocked him to say the least. He could always talk or ask Spamton about anything. He never knew he could step on a subject that was forbidden, especially to this degree. He should've treaded more carefully, but in his desperation he made an grave oversight.
"Only answer what you can without hurting yourself. Understand?" He suggests, gentler than before
Spamton's shades were now clear of static. He weakly nods against his hand, looking relieved by that order.
"..Are you not allowed to tell me who that was in your room?"
Spamton only responds with a pained grin and a weak laugh. That's the best he can offer.
"Can you tell me why they were in your room?"
"Theyy...they come and go [at any hour] they please...Ssometimes too...to ssstare...at me...sometimes to mm..mmock me."
"Why?"
"Beeecause-" he winces as a small glitch appears for a microsecond. Looks like he was getting a bit too close to saying something he shouldn't "...Th-theress...there's a lotta... mistakes I've [home-made]..they're just one of them." He somberly says
He had such far-away eyes, that give away only give a hint of all the turmoil Spamton went through while he was gone, none of which Tenna can ever fully understand. Especially not when moments ago he wasn't allowed give away even a small detail of it.
"It's fiiine...they're....they're usually in my room.... juusst....just dont go in there...aand they won't...won't bother you." Spamton says, wanting reassure Tenna that their meeting before would most likely not recur.
"I don't care if they bother me. I just wanted to know I wasn't seeing things." Tenna states, removing Spamton from the door as he steps back.
He holds him more comfortably in both hands, his left hand taking hold of his body, while his right supports his head.
He makes way to his chair, and he places Spamton on his lap when he sits. He peacefully lays there, staring up at Tenna as he looms over him, still displaying the spiral on his screen.
With the interrogation over, Tenna defaults to how he normally behaves when he has Spamton in his trance. Which is with a gentler hand.
He slowly runs his fingers through Spamton's hair. At first his flinches at the sudden gentle feeling, but then he relaxes as he blissfully sighs, growing a crooked grin on his face.
Tenna continues, letting out an amused scoff as he watches Spamton melt in his hold. "See isn't it so much better this way, with me as the one in control?"
"..yyyeahh..."
"Exactly, this suits you much better."
"..mmyyeaa..." Spamton mindlessly agrees, while craning his head to lean more into Tenna's hand. He doesn't know exactly what he is talking about, but he'll agree to anything that will keep Tenna's attention on him.
Although, Tenna himself is uncertain of which of them he is trying to convince here.
Even now, he still can't let go of the pleasant feeling he had when he was entranced, and Spamton was the one having him in his hold.
He can't shake the feeling of how much he liked it, and how he'd want it again, no matter how pathetic he thinks it makes him look.
What a headache. All because of a damn bet.
Come to think of it, it was Spamton who brought up the bet in the first place. And that was when he brought in that blasted device..
"Why did you get that device in the first place? To humiliate me?" He asks with tinge of anger in his voice.
Spamton gives a slow blink, before his smile grows and he says "...I juust... wanted a chance too...to ss[shower head filter] youu... iiin affection like... like you do... ffor mee..."
"You call this affection, being in my thrall?" Tenna scoffs, bemused at whatever logic Spamton follows in his head.
"You take away... aall the [####] iiin myy...my head... aand for a [minute at a time]... you make... eeverything make ss.. make ssense.....I love you fffor that.."
Tenna becomes still.
Love. He didn't make him say that, he said it on his own. Love? How can he mean that? Even when he has him in the palm of his fucking hands, like a rabbit caught in a snare he's saying this?
Tenna carefully picks Spamton up, and places him on the ground, standing. He look at him for a second, before putting his head in his hands.
What the hell is he doing? What the hell has he been doing? Wasn't the reason he put Spamton in a trance was to get some answers? So why is he-
"[Tenant]..?" Spamton speaks up, confused by the sudden change of behavior
".....Get out..." Tenna whispers in a low voice, too low for Spamton to hear
"Wha-"
"I SAID GET OUT!" he bellows, snapping his head up to show his spiral again to keep his hold on Spamton strong, and make sure the command was heard.
Spamton's mouth clacks shut. And then, he obediently turns and walks away, heading towards the door. As Tenna watches him leave, he feels near instant regret from his words.
"No- wait- wait stop!" Tenna exclaims as he rushes from his seat.
Spamton freezes as Tenna runs up and drops to his knees right behind him, wrapping his arms around his torso "I- I didn't mean it!- I didn't... Don't- don't ever leave me. Don't-" He holds him tighter, slightly shaking as he desperately rambles off some more "Please dont go! Stay with me- stay with me forever. You will- right? Tell me that you will."
"..Yess...I will..." Spamton softly uttered
"And even if you left, you'd always come back to me, right?"
"Yes...alwayyss..."
Tenna turns Spamton around to face him, keeping his hands clutching him by the shoulders. Simply hearing him isn't enough, he has to see him say it.
"Say that you'll never leave me." He says, slightly shaking him as he does.
"..I'll [never].....neverrr leave yoou..."
"Say that you'll always come back to me."
"I'll..aalways [come back]..ttoo you.."
"Say that-...that....that you..." Tenna doesn't finish that sentence, not when he notices the dazed look in Spamton's eyes.
That's right... He can make him say whatever he wants, but he can't even hear what he's saying. It's just parroting, it doesn't actually promise anything. But for a moment, Tenna fooled himself into believing it did. He bitterly laughs.
He notices Spamton's hair was a bit unkempt, it must've been from the shaking. He carefully brushes the stray hairs off of his face "I dont know why one of us always has to be like this, for me to be tender with you."
He gives a deep sigh as he continues fixing up his hair "Maybe that cat was right... I am terrible. Terrible, and selfish since I'm still keeping you here."
When finished, he grabs him by the shoulders once more "I have one more order for you, and then you can go about your day."
Afterwards, he plans to erase this whole mess from Spamton's head. It would be for the better, he surely wouldn't want to remember any of this.
"One more time, tell me the truth. Tell that I'm a terrible person."
Spamton merely blinks, and gives a confused squint at the instruction.
"Tell me that I'm a terrible person! Or- just terrible if thats easier." Tenna says, lightly shaking him again. But still, he gets nothing but a long stare from Spamton.
"Just say it damn you! Say it!" He demands, louder and more firmly this time.
And so, Spamton gives his response.
He sluggishly moves to hold the side of Tenna's head, and then leans in to give him a peck on the cheek.
Tenna doesn't know what to make of this, it's a direct defiance of his order. He thought this was the easiest thing to ask of him, but he refuses to do it. Could he always do that? But that would mean...everything before, he did want to do and say as well..?
Being left so stunned, Tenna can only think of one thing to ask "...What do you want from me?"
Spamton lazily tilts his head "[Right turn] noww I....I waant to...kiss yyou.."
Tenna says nothing, he merely stared at Spamton and his dopey smile.
And then, he turns off the spiral. Cutting off his control, and back to his stern face.
Spamton blinks, eyelids fluttering like waking up from a dream. He sleepily rubs his eyes as the gears start to turn in his head, he always has this drowsy feeling after waking up from these.
But whats different this time, to his surprise, is that he remembers everything.
He quickly looks back at Tenna with wide eyes. His mind was running fast with excuses to say after he admitted that in the end "I was-"
Before he could say his half-baked lie, Tenna abruptly grabs his face, and pulls him in for a kiss. It was the last thing Spamton was expecting, he was so shocked he couldn't move. All he could do was live in the moment, and take in the feeling of Tenna's lips pressing against his own.
It was only after Tenna pulled away, that Spamton realizes he isn't still dreaming
"We can kiss without either of us being in a trance. Understand?" Tenna dryly says, annoyed with how long it took for them to have a proper kiss with both parties awake.
When Spamton regains feeling in his body, he happily says "[Duly noted]!"
Tenna then gets up and makes way for his chair again. Spamton follows after, worried he's automatically going back to work and ignoring him again "Wait- [wait time]! I wasn't doing that [glitch in the software] on purpose! You gotta believe me!"
"I do, I understand. You said it yourself, some things you can't tell me."
"...[correct], yeah that's true..." he watches with uncertainty as Tenna gets back to writing. He seems calm, but that alone confused him. But then again, as the events from before catch up to him, Spamton himself isn't too sure how he feels.
It was...nice, for the most part. And yet, sad? He saw a side to Tenna he'd never seen before, it almost feels like an accident that he still remembers it all. Was it? No, he's always very precise with these, this couldn't have been an accident.
So... did that mean Tenna was fine with him knowing all of this..?
"I have a proposition for you." Spamton jolts as Tennas words cut through his thoughts.
He stops writing and looks at Spamton, giving serious weight to his next words "I think you and I should start sharing a room together. Do you agree?"
Spamton once again debates if he is dreaming or not, but no he can't be. This is too surreal to even be a dream "WHAT?!"
"You shouldn't stay in that pigsty where that cat can keep visiting you. It's no wonder you're going insane." Tenna calmly reasons
Once it sinks in that this is really happening Spamton finds the words to talk some more "But- But what if they just start coming to visit our [shared bedroom] instead?"
"I dont care, I'll torch them if I have to. Besides you seem to be their favorite, so right now I'm more focused on getting you away from there."
"And...and [just like that] we'd live together?"
"The offer is on the table if you want it."
"Youre serious? You're [honest to god] serious?!"
"For fucks sake!- I'm not going to beg you Spamton! Do you want to move in with me or not?!" Tenna shouts with an irritated frown on his face, contrasting the thoughtful offer.
The familiar anger, brings reassurance to Spamton that he does mean it! "YES YES [Affirmative] YES!!" he squeals as he hops up, going in for a hug.
Though is stopped by Tenna grabbing him in midair "Just one yes will do."
"[Yes]!" Spamton cheerfully says with a wide grin, finding Tenna's serious attitude funny in this situation. Seems that old habits die hard.
Oh well, baby steps!