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"TENNA?" Spamton called out, pushing past the tarp covering the entrance to their home. "LOVEBUG, I'M [tadaima]!" He waited for a few seconds, only to receive no response. Frowning slightly, he called out again. It's possible his partner just didn't make out what he said. His hearing was going a bit, after all. "TENS?"
After still no response, Spamton limped toward their shared room, concerned. It was the end of a long day of errands and his leg was screaming in protest with every step, but he ignored the pain as per usual. "TENNA," he called once more, poking his head around the door, "ARE Y0U..."
He trailed off, feeling a harsh pang in chest. Tenna was curled up on the bed, crying to himself quietly. The CRT's body was balled up in what could only be described as a sort of fetal position, sniffling and whimpering while mumbling to himself.
Alarmed, Spamton rushed over to their bed and hopped up next to Tenna. He felt Tenna's body shift a bit when he placed a hand on the larger man's shoulder. "LOVEBUG. H3Y. WHAT'S WRONG?"
"I-I-I'm so useless!" Tenna wailed through tears. "I don't know why you stick around, Spammy, I'm such a burden to you. You would be better off without me. E-Everyone would be better off without me!" He buried his face further into the pillow, pouting.
"HEY. [NUH-UH!!!!]. YOU'RE [knot] USELESS." Spamton squeezed himself between Tenna's arm and his knees, forcing him to open up his posture a bit. "WHY DO Y0U SAY THAT THIS [wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey]?"
"Because I just am!"
Spamton curled his small hands around the sides of Tenna's face. "[Cathode], REMEMBER. THINK [logically speaking]. CAN YOU DO TH4T [four] ME?"
Tenna sniffled, trying to reel back his tears. "Y-yeah. I... I can try."
"THAT'S MY [Good boy!]."
The corner of Tenna's mouth twitched up a bit at that, and his tail thumped on the bed a couple times involuntarily at the praise. Wiping his tears away with his sleeve, he said slowly and shakily, "I wanted to... I wanted to try reading again. I pulled down one of the books from the shelf that I've seen you read before. I... I thought it'd be nice to read it to you. But... my vision," he said softly, "My vision has gotten too bad to read much." Tenna hunched his shoulders, drawing in on himself again in shame. "I wanted to read it to you a bit. To show that I could. But if I did, it would be such a slow pace that it would be hard to follow along with. It wouldn't be enjoyable for you..."
Spamton rubbed his thumb in a reassuring motion on Tenna's screen, and the CRT leaned into the touch needily with a soft purr. "I WOULDN'T [Minecraft]. WOULDN'T [Jedi mind tricks.]" The postman paused, clearing his throat in embarrassment. "I W0ULDN'T M1ND," he repeated, this time more slowly.
Tenna let out another whimper and gently ran his hand through his partner's hair. "You'd do that for me?" he asked hopefully. "Are you sure it wouldn't be a bother? Or annoying? Or-"
"[10s place]. TENNA. IT'S 0KAY." Spamton leaned in closer to nuzzle against Tenna's screen. "I JUST W4NT TO [Buy one, get one free!] TIME WITH YOU. I DON'T [Care Bears] IF IT T4KES A WHILE."
A smile crept up Tenna's busted screen as his tail began to wag in earnest. "Really?"
"YES, [Cathode], FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Spamton laughed, tilting Tenna's head downwards towards him. "YOU KN0W I C4N'T LIE WORTH A [#$!$]." Blushing a bit, he added, "I-I ALWAYS WANT TO SP3ND TIME WITH [u]."
Giggling, the CRT hugged the postman in close. "Oh, Spammy, I love you so much!"
Spamton cleared his throat, trying in vain to maintain a sense of dignity despite being held like a toy. "I LOVE YOU TOO," he murmured softly, blushing harder and tenderly caressing Tenna's screen. "DO [ewe] WANT [Mii] TO GO GET A B0OK?" At Tenna's eager nod, Spamton squeezed his partner's hand gently. "...YOU HAVE TO LET ME GO FIRST."
"Oh! Sorry," Tenna apologized, loosening his grip to let Spamton wriggle out of his grasp. Despite only having one arm now, the one he still had was quite strong... or at the least it felt that way to Spamton, being less than half of his partner's size. Bashfully, the CRT grinned, his tail thwapping loudly on the sheets. "Please? Could you?"
"MHM." Dragging himself down off their bed, Spamton walked over to their flimsy bookshelf, still ignoring the ache in his limb. He paused for several moments as his eyes scanned the few options they had- all of which had water damage- in an attempt to find something that would be easier for Tenna to read. After careful consideration, he carefully pulled out two books and scurried back to Tenna.
The CRT's antennae perked up as soon as he heard Spamton enter. "What did you pick?" he asked excitedly.
"I BROUGHT TWO," the postman explained, pushing the books across the bed to Tenna. "ONE IS WHAT I [guessing game] YOU WERE LOOKING AT [Early bird gets the worm!]. IT'S A [Book your spot now!] FROM THE SURFACE ABOUT THE [historical] OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION. THE O-OTHER [won] IS A KIDS' BOOK I [Founding Fathers] TO READ TO SUZY. BUT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN AROUND TO IT YET... SO I [Cogito, Ergo Sum] MAYBE YOU COULD [reeds] IT TO HER? AND [practice makes perfect!] NOW."
Tenna perked up visibly. "Are you sure she would like that? Suzy wouldn't get frustrated with me, would she?"
Spamton snorted, his tail twitching. "OF COURSE NOT. SUZY JUST [Like and subscribe!] BEING WITH YOU. THE WORDS ARE [BIG SHOT!!], SO IT SHOULD BE [Easy there, pardner!] COMPARED TO OTHER BOOKS." He pulled himself back up on the bed to sit next to Tenna. "GO AHEAD, PICK ONE."
With much uncertainty and a bit of nervousness, Tenna traced his hand over each book in turn. He thought for a moment, then picked up the kids' book. He looked towards Spamton, a bit embarrassed. "Better to... start small, right?"
"YEAH. IF YOU WANT I CAN [C++] WHAT THEY HAVE AT THE [Librarby] IN LARGE PRINT?"
"I'd... I'd love that. If you wouldn't mind." Tenna swept his tail across the bed, moving it to gently coil around his partner's bad leg.
"I WOULDN'T [mined]. NOW COME ON, READ TO ME," Spamton encouraged.
Hesitantly, Tenna opened the book. The motion was a bit clumsy considering how wide it was, and he had to reach out to steady the opposite cover with his stump to keep the book from flopping over onto the bed. Pausing to look at the title page for a moment, he then flipped until he found the first page with actual story content. Hesitating one more time, he looked towards Spamton for approval. The postman gently squeezed his partner's thigh in response, urging Tenna to continue.
"...It was... a. A glooby da- no. A GLOOMY day. It was a gloomy day... and... Little..." he paused, moving the book a little closer to his face. "And Little Bunny was... hope. No, holed. Little Bunny was holed up... at his... bur... burrow."
"SEE? I [teller] YOU. YOU'RE DO1NG IT!" Spamton cooed proudly, pushing up against Tenna's side. "WHAT A [Good boy!]."
Tenna blushed. "But that took so long... most people could read that in a quarter of the time," he said dejectedly.
"BUT YOU STILL [reed] IT. DIDN'T YOU?"
"Well... yeah."
"AND YOU AREN'T M0ST PEOPLE." Before Tenna could interject, Spamton quickly added, "AND TH4T'S OKAY. KEEP GOING."
Tenna faltered. "Are you sure?"
"YES. KEEP READING." Spamton curled up next to Tenna, nuzzling against his hip, causing the CRT to break into a grin. "[Never give up!]"
"Little Bunny... was... h-having a... good t-time... despise- No, despite. Despite the... weather......"