Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Dear... I've been meaning to ask, if you'd do this old woman a favor. Neighbor to neighbor."

The question immediately pulls your attention away from stacking the King's Throne in the corner. Ms. Toriel had unusually just broken the bit of silence the room held since being emptied. Class was over, and it was time to clean up while she finished grading papers. Usually the silence lasted until you were both out of the classroom at least, leading you to believe something serious must be on her mind.

Not to mention she rarely asked you for favors that had nothing to do with work.

"Are you in need of a television? I need to- I'd like to be rid of it, but I'd hate to simply throw it out on the curb.."

You purse your lips curiously, "Your TV? I thought you guys loved that thing! I mean, Kris was using it just the other day, right?" You recall when you'd visited the Dreemurr home on business the week prior- Kris had definitely been laying on the couch with the TV on. Blaring, even. Can't forget that. Toriel had to ask them to turn it down, to which they seemed a bit hesitant come to think of it. 

She clasps her hands together and shrugs, "Oh, well, it has been in the family quite a while as you know, but we both believe it's one of those things we should move forward from." You found that hard to believe, mostly because she was being so weird about it. Then you noticed it, a hint of frustration in her brows. The same kind of look she gets when she runs into Asgore outside. "We barely even keep the thing plugged in these days."

Now that you think about it, Kris seemed rather busy on their phone instead, but you figured that was normal for a teenager and that they were obviously listening to whatever was on at least. What was it again?

The weather? Well, who doesn't like to keep up with the weather?

You open your mouth with a sigh to contest her, and she immediately shoots you a look that practically begged you to 'please take the thing away', So you give in instead.

"Well, okay... I mean, why not?" You shrug.  "I'm sure I can find some use for it. I can pick it up today if you want?"

She sighed in relief, "Please do!"

You couldn't help but chuckle as she dropped the facade. You did feel a bit bad agreeing to taking it, in case Kris still wanted it around, but Toriel didn't seem like she'd budge on the matter. 

Once you finish up for the day, Toriel takes you home with her. Despite being neighbors, you usually just walked home since you'd often leave before her. It was a short walk. But, since you had to go to her home today anyway, she refused to let you today. You ended up having to sit in silence until she finished her paperwork, faced with the dread that you'd be subjected to her music once you got in that car.

At least the drive would be short, right?

"So...why not just toss it out?" You decide to pry, your head half out the window to block the latest track of 'Hymns as Sung by Bones' with the breeze. While it wasn't the worst cassette she owned, it was a little too literal. You had to wonder hwy she even had such a thing.

Unfortunately, she pulls you back inside by the sleeve to which you click your tongue.

She sighs, "I'm not opposed to it so much as Kris is.." You had a feeling that'd be the case. "When I brought it up, they were adamant that if we must, then I at least ask you to take it instead. They must really want to keep it close.."

You nod along. That made you feel a bit less guilty about taking it at least. "I get that. They can always come over if they want to watch it then, right?"

She giggles, "I figured that was the thought process, too."

The car ride was as quick as you expected. In the blink of an eye you were at your destination, and the song on the radio didn't even get to finish.

You feel eyes on you as you hop out of the car.

"Well then!" Toriel held a hint of mischief in her voice, "How about we take the time to get a pie going? What's the rush anyhow, hm? Kris still has a couple hours of class left, so we may even have enough time to taste it ourselves this time." She chuckles.

A truer statement had never been spoken. Not once since becoming close with the duo did you ever get a still-slightly-warm-in-the-middle slice of that pie. Hell, you were lucky if you got a slice at all. Kris had to have been built with a second stomach and sixth sense just for pie, there was no other explanation. Not that you can blame them, your mouth already watering as it is. Maybe Toriel's secret ingredient was the human equivalent of catnip?

Walking into the Dreemurr home, you could practically smell fresh pie already. As well as a hint of something floral? Regardless, the former made your stomach rumble, and you began to regret your light lunch that day.

Toriel makes her way to the kitchen ahead of you, and you find yourself alone in the living room. You've been here enough times to know the layout, made yourself at home a few nights even, yet you realize you never really got a good look at the finer details. The television included. 

It really was in good condition, from what you could see, despite being an older model. It was very well cared for, just a bit dusty. You could probably count how many times you watched it while you were here on a single hand.

Your legs carry you over to it slowly, your fingertips brush between the antenna and catch a thick layer of dust. Maybe it was more than a 'bit'.

You give it a quick pat down, out of pity, and soon find yourself crouched in front of it. You didn't hold as many memories with it as they did, but the ones you did made the view from where you sat feel nostalgic all the same.

You catch your reflection in the black mirror and gasp. How can you talk about the TV looking neglected when you yourself look like you could use some TLC. Your hair's a mess! And is that paint on your cheek? That's not even the worst of it. Dark circles are growing under your eyes! You rub at them but of course it does nothing. Maybe you shouldn't stay up all night reading those fan works..

Oh stars, and just what is that white thing on your chin? Were you breaking out again?

No, wait, actually, what is that? It's...not part of your reflection at all. But a glance behind you confirms that you're alone in the room. No, this seems to be displayed on the TV itself. Had you accidentally turned it on?

It's fuzzy and faint, but it almost looks as if the TV is grinning at you.

It could be faded marker right? Toriel once mentioned a younger Kris drawing on whatever they could reach so..

Curiosity moves you forward. You reach out ever so slowly. Your fingertips inches from the screen feel electric-

"Are you coming, dear?" Toriel asks, peeking out from the dividing wall.

You squeak. Toriel's reminded of your late grandmother the way you jerk away from the TV and hop a clean two feet backwards, landing perfectly sat on the couch.

"Oh, my-" She coughs. "-my apologies for startling you. Were you perhaps checking out the television?" She covered her mouth with one hand the second you whipped your head around to look at her, and you could see her shoulders very obviously shaking.

You attempt to look natural, but are unable to stop the heat in your cheeks. "Uh.. Y..yeah! Caught me. Um I was just wondering where I could put it. Cause it's so big!" You laugh sheepishly but give a quick glance at the very-much-blank screen. Had it been your imagination? "We don't really have a spot for it.."

Toriel nodded, "Your grandmother always preferred her radio didn't she?"

You light up, "But when we'd come over, she'd always end up watching those cowboy movies all the way through! I'd be the one dragging her home." You both share a laugh at the memory and your earlier embarrassment washes away almost instantly.

You glance at the TV and see nothing still. You were being silly, weren't you?

"Um, but yeah, it looks pretty heavy too. I don't know how I'll even take it with me." You did sort of plan to just carry it out, after all.

Toriel gives that a dismissive wave, "Kris has this little wagon upstairs. They can help you."

"Oh! Hah! Okay, yeah! I guess that works."

She shoots you a warning look to not to even try and change your mind. You respond with an apologetic one. You weren't trying to sound hesitant now but your tone betrayed you at the thought the TV might be haunted.

"Hurry on now." She waves you over, sliding back into the kitchen.

You give one more glance, but upon seeing nothing once again, hop off the couch and make your way over. You should probably sleep earlier tonight.

❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ 

Just as predicted, Kris showed up a few hours later with Susie in tow. Some pie and a near death match over the last slice later, and you were on your way home with your new TV.

The so called 'wagon' Toriel had mentioned before seemed more like a toy than anything else. The TV didn't even fit within the basket, requiring both you and Kris to hold it for stability while the only person with the upper body strength to do so pulled the wagon. Just when had Kris gotten this thing anyway? As a baby? The poor thing sounded like it needed to be put down with the way it creaked and rattled and you were almost terrified it'd give out below the appliance. You wonder if perhaps Toriel had misremembered, but here you all were with it anyway.

The threshold of your doorway becomes your next obstacle. Thankfully Susie is able to lift the wagon over, and you wonder why you even needed the wagon in the first place.

"Okay!" You pant, realizing you hadn't prepared a place for it. "We'll just...uhh.." You look at your options.

Your room? No, you don't want the kids in there if they come over to watch a movie or something.

The coffee table? No, you'd have to move it away from the couch and that'd lower the comfiness of the living room. Besides, that's where you kept your glass bunnies.

You look to a console in front of the coffee table. It was decorated with a large circular doily and held your basket of decorative eggs, but it would otherwise be perfect for a television. Come to think of it, that's where your grandmother used to keep her radio so you'd have somewhere to plug it in too! 

You quickly set the basket onto the coffee table, leaving the doily. "There! We'll put it there."

Susie glances between the eggs and you, "Those edible?"

Kris elbows Susie in the side, to which she pouts.  "Let's all just grab a side."

"I wasn't gonna actually do it.." She mumbles.

On the count of three, you all lift the heavy CRT to its new stand. You reach back and plug it in then take a step back to get a look at it. As you thought, it fits just right. The knit underneath added a nice touch though you could only really see the edges poking through now. 

Kris steps forward then. "It's missing something." You watch quietly as they pick the eggs from the basket and arrange them one by one in a circle around the TV. You think they're done but suddenly they're going for your bunnies too, placing one at its front, and the other two at the left, and right. You see the vision. It's actually kind of cute. 

"It looks like they're about to sacrifice his ass for more eggs." Susie laughs, changing your mind almost instantly.

Kris' smirk makes you think that may have been the intention. You almost thought they were being serious.

"Very funny." But despite your sarcasm, you decide to leave it. "I appreciate you help, you two. You're tougher than you both look, you know that?" You notice a hint of pride in the look they give each other. "How about a treat for your hard work?

And Susie's face lights up instantly. 

You walk over to the door with them in tow and rummage through a drawer beside it. When you face them again, you hold out a piece of candy for them each.

"Aw man.." Susie groans, "This is the kind of stuff old ladies give you on Halloween..." Kris takes theirs and reach for hers, but she snatches it away. "I didn't say I didn't want it!"

You snicker, "Oops I thought these were the good ones." Of course you had a small trick up your sleeve. "Oh, wait. Now how'd it get there?" You reach behind Susie's head and pull out a small bag of gummy monsters for her. Seemingly with an empty hand to start with.

"Wha- How'd you do that?!" She takes the baggy and looks up at you. "Do Kris next."

You tap your chin curiously, "Come to think of it, I think I do see something there too." 

Kris turns their head slightly and you pluck another treat from behind their ear for them. You both laugh at Susie's surprise. 

"You haven't done that in a while.." Kris mutters, taking their treat from you. It seems to be a whisper just for you.

You ruffle their hair, "I still got it, huh? Don't tell her how it's done. It's funnier that way."

Susie glances at the two of you, an empty baggy of treats hanging above her open mouth. "Huh?"

Kris nudges her toward the door, "Nothing. Let's go, mom might need help with dinner."

You give a small wave, "I'll see you two tomorrow. Don't tell Toriel I gave you anything if she asks."

But before they leave, Susie gives Kris a nudge, and they turn back toward you.

They pull a folded piece of paper from their pocket and hand it to you. "Before I forget. Take care of him, okay? He gets kinda lonely easily. Oh, and, he likes long walks." And with that, they wave and close the door. 

The last thing you hear is Susie telling Kris to jump in the wagon, followed by furious squeaking.

You're so stun locked you didn't even get to ask what they were talking about. Were they talking about the TV? Susie also called it a 'he' earlier didn't she? Then again that's just something kids do, right? They make toys out of their surroundings and bring them to life. The decorations around your TV once got the same treatment. Not that you'd ever admit that out loud, though. 

You feel as if you're forgetting something that might add some meaning to their words. But you shrug it off and slip the paper into your shirt pocket.

You make your way to your little couch in front of the TV and pick up the remote Susie had attempted to hide between the cushions earlier. It was finally time to relax and maybe find a new favorite show. As Toriel reminded you before, you never really owned a television, so you weren't really sure what to watch. Well, no better way to find out than to sift through the channels.

So you think to turn the TV on for starter. But you don't need to. It already is.

That's automatic, you tell yourself. It's supposed to do that when you plug it in. Not that you'd know otherwise anyway.

You curl up against a throw pillow and start flipping through channels. There's a couple static channels, the weather, the news, cartoons. You end up on some forensics show. There's a murder being investigated, and someone on the team of investigators seems incredibly suspicious.

You're immediately hooked. 

As you snuggle up, a crinkle at your chest reminds you of your note from earlier. You pick it up and turn onto your back to look at it. Your eyes instantly narrow at the contents.

Inside is a rough drawing of a plain but familiar CRT with an arrow pointing from it to a well dressed man with a television for a head. He bears sharp claws and teeth, looking ready to pounce. There's a red circle and arrow around as well as pointed at his head with the word 'Ant Tenna' in sloppy red marker. It appears to be signed by a hand-drawn version of the shocked emoji for some reason?

You snort, chalking it up to the persona the TV must have gained over the years. It only confirmed your suspicions from earlier. The TV was a beloved friend.

"But why make him look like some sort of cryptid?" It gets a bit funnier the more you look at it.

You glance up at the TV and compare it to the drawing. There is a bit of resemblance, but the TV as a head looks a bit smaller than the real thing would be. There's also humor in the name that you can't deny. What does 'Ant' even stand for? Anthony? Antonio? "Hmm.. Anthony Tenna...?" Your repeat of the name makes you snicker some more.

The light from your TV dulls slightly, the colors on screen distorting ever so slightly before returning to normal. Oh, right. Toriel did warn you that the colors weren't as good as they used to be. This must be what she meant.

You drop the paper on your coffee table and roll back onto your side, giving your attention back to the show. Before you know it, the episode concludes and another begins. Thankfully it takes place where the last left off. They haven't figured out the murderer yet, and you've been at the edge of your seat waiting for it. 

Unfortunately your eyes are starting to feel a bit heavy. You're not sure how far into the episode you are, but they seem to have found the kill room and there's someone alive inside. Unfortunately your eyes fall closed just as they open it.

You technically shouldn't be sleeping yet. There's still a bit of light out and you still need to shower, change, and have dinner. But your exhaustion seems to have caught up to you.

When you open your eyes again, your show appears to be over, now replaced by static. You feel heavy, only vaguely aware of where you are.

Night has come and darkened your home.

You can't move, and it leads you to wonder just how tired you are to feel like lead. Your eyes try to stay focused- try to stay open. 

But all they can make out is a large shadow sitting on the console. Your television moves. 

Your eyes fall closed once more.

Chapter Text

Your eyes open slowly to a bright light shining on them. It's blinding, momentarily confusing. Then you remember where you are.

"..Uh?" Your first sound of the day! 

The sun was pouring in through the windows in your living room, blanketing you in warmth. A glance at your phone showed it was nearly six in the morning. Had you really slept the whole night through? That was what, eleven hours of sleep? You can't remember the last time you'd gotten more than five in a single night.

You tug a strand of hair out of the corner of your mouth and stretch with a hearty yawn, letting your bones pop and settle comfortably. It was a bit surprising just how good you felt. Sure, you needed the sleep, but too much usually left you feeling equally ragged. Though you did feel a bit sticky now and in desperate need of that shower you missed out on. Some breakfast would have to come after. Right after.

You slide off the couch, your eyes fall on the television and you're vaguely reminded of something from the night before. It'd been a while since you had sleep paralysis. Thankfully it wasn't as scary as it usually was. Come to think of it, it was actually sort of comforting? A bit of morbid curiosity in you wonders what would have happened if you hadn't knocked back out right away. Perhaps you'll never know.

The drawing of your TV's sona catches your attention next, and you get the idea to place it between the antennas. Gotta let any visitors know what's up too.

"Morning 'Tenna'." You yawn again, giving the TV a little pat. You supposed you could also treat it as a friend for Kris' sake. You still had whimsy in your heart, after all! Taking it out for a walk was out of the question however. 

As you make your way to your bathroom you briefly wonder if turning off is also an automatic feature for it.

Once inside, you don't spare your reflection a glace, much too afraid of the creature within it. You can feel your appearance, you don't have to see it.

When you return to your living room, you're wrapped in a fluffy robe. You did check the mirror on the way out at least, looking much more content, clean, and most of all ready to tackle your kitchen. 

You still have two hours before work so for once you have time to go a little above simple toaster pancakes. No, today, they would be stovetop. The strawberries in your fridge hadn't seen you in three days and your milk was about to expire. Today, they would both be introduced to your pancake batter. 

After a whirlwind of cleaning up spill after spill as you go, you produce a couple over-crisped fluffy pancakes with strawberries both in and on top of them. 

You felt proud. Hell, officer Undyne might just come knocking at your door cause it has to be illegal to eat this fancy on a Friday morning.

You skip with breakfast in hand to your living room, deciding it'd taste better with some TV. You'd usually just scroll through your phone while you pick at your food, but this felt more hands-free. More convenient. Maybe because it was? 

"I should have asked for a manual though.." You sigh to no one as you drop to sit between the couch and the coffee table. You had to wonder if there was a list of channels- some easier way to browse. While you enjoyed the show from last night, "Where were the cartoons again?" They had always been the go-to when you visited the Dreemurr house, so why break tradition now?

You spend a minute flipping through channels just to land on the one you sought right after your question. You felt a bit silly. Of course they'd be right there!

It's a familiar early morning cartoon about dragons who go on adventurers with human children, the one Toriel would put on for you and Kris, despite you being a little too old for it even then. You recall it also being the one where Asriel had a crush on the blue dragon. The memory makes you snicker. He always tried to deny it, saying he just thought it looked cool. But you knew. Everyone knew.

Obviously you're much too old now, and don't need to learn any life lessons as far as you're aware, but you stay out of nostalgia.

Ironically you end up leaning into your hand and watching the show more than actually eating. You're absentmindedly picking apart your pancakes until the colors begin to warp like the night before. Only then are you reminded of your breakfast and take a bite. When the colors return, you're briefly lost once again. And while it takes a minute longer, the image warps again. 

That's...weird. But just coincidental enough to not set off the alarm bells that it should have.

'It's acting up again.' Your sleep fattened brain tells you. So you stand to inspect it, a hand cupping your chin in thought. "How did grandma used to fix her radio?" Right. The tried and true method.

You ball your free hand into a fist, and give the top of the TV a firm thunk. 

'Gah!'

You jump at the sound and lean down to inspect the TV and see the image has cleared up just in time to see one of the dragons rubbing their head as stars circled it. Of course that's what it was! Why would you think the TV itself made that sound? Because that didn't sound like the character? The show was distorted!

You're too well rested to be thinking like that.

So you file that thought away in the mental folder you created full of other silly thoughts you've had lately, and return to your breakfast. You're uninterrupted for the rest of your meal, but your attention is a bit more balanced this time anyway. By the time you finish you have half an hour left to yourself, but that's half an hour it'll take you to make yourself presentable. 

You clasp your hands together in front of your empty plate, "To G-ma's infinite wisdom", and hop to your feet. You click the TV off and clean up with a yawn. Maybe you ate too much. 

At least it was Friday, meaning the children would have a half day. Well, the younger ones anyway. 'Sorry, Kris, Susie..' 

That gave you time to run the errands you put off yesterday and then maybe, hopefully, catch up on your stories. 'Maybe they've updated', you psych yourself up as you head to your room. Something you'd impatiently have to check up on during your break at least.

However, as you touch the doorknob to your bedroom, all thought leaves you. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up one by one and you freeze. You glance to the side, but your hair blocks your line of sight.

You don't really know why, but you pretend to sneeze and use that as an excuse to turn yourself toward your living room. 

There's no one there. Of course not. You would have heard something if there was. So you continue into your bedroom with a few convincing sniffles.

This thought nags at you more than the others. It claws at your brain. It doesn't want to be put away.

It was brief, but you felt as if someone was watching you.

But you don't want to think about that.

❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ 

It's later than expected when you finally return. The sun hasn't quite begun to set, but it's low enough that the light from the windows has shifted to the opposite side of the house by now. 

Despite how great you felt this morning, you returned feeling as if you'd been microwaved. At least it had nothing to do with work, but everything to do with the bouquet you now carried to your dining table. It wasn't even from Asgore. Well, it was, until that pizza guy 'borrowed' it and 'gave' it (back) to you. What the hell was his name again anyway?

You drop the groceries on your arms, swapping hands on the bouquet to do so, only to immediately grimace. It was somehow both sticky and greasy at the same time.

Had you been touching that this whole time?

You quickly but carefully pluck a few flowers from the center before tossing the rest and immediately washing your hands. A bit of water in your carrot shaped vase later, and they were the perfect centerpiece for the table. Beautiful as always, but thinner than you would have liked.

You would have felt more guilt about the poor bundle in the trash if you hadn't slipped Asgore some money while he crushed your spine.

With that done, a sigh carries you over to your couch and drapes you backwards over the arm. You wince slightly as you settle into the cushions.

Your eyes might burn a hole into your ceiling the way you stare into it, but you seem too lost in thought to care until-

Ring, ring, ring. This is the 'the only ringtone you own' song~

You curiously pull your phone from your pocket, only to nearly drop it on your soured face at the name on screen. You panic, unsure what to do, until the ringing finally stops and you look relieved. A missed call can always be played off, right?

Ring, ring, ring. This is the 'the only ringtone you own' song~

You scroll through your options, looking for a way to block a number.

Ring, ring, ring. This is the 'the only ringtone you own' song~

You roll onto your side and bury your face in the cushions, muffling a scream. But your phone is persistent.

Ring, ring, ring. This is the 'the only ringtone you own' song~

You roll onto your back again and answer the phone with a calm and polite, "Hello?" as if you hadn't just crashed out.

Your free hand rubs the space between your eyebrows, "Uh-huh. Yeah? Yep when you- Mhm.. I was there. Ohh, from Catty, huh?" You say through grit teeth, flailing your hand up and down.

The sound from the other side of the line echoes through your quiet house.

"Yeah so I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie or whatever, you know?"

You're practically vibrating, mouthing a single word the whole time. But you hold back. "That's so kind of you, uh... You, but I already have-" You look around for some kind of excuse since you're obviously not busy. "A boyfriend? Yeah I, I already got one of those so..." You pinch the bridge of your nose as you stare into the black mirror on your console.

"Oh... OHHHH GOTCHA. WOW, my bad huh?! Say, whats his name?! Did we go to school with em?"

"Anthony!" You stupidly blurt, "He's from out of town so-!"

"Siiiigh.. Look, I get it. I get it. City people, amirite?"

"R-right.." You don't get it at all.

"Then hows this. You, me, Ant, and my girl all go on a double date, eh?"

You reel back and look at your phone incredulously for a second, "Your... your girl?"

"Well, listen, listen, listen. Keep it on the down-low but me 'n her.. We've been talking, if you catch my drift. And I think it might be official soon. If you catch my drift. But you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take, you dig?"

You disassociate from the call and stare at your ceiling until he calls your name after you're quiet for a bit too long.

"Hey, uh, I gotta go. My...water's running."

" Oh, yeah! Be free, man, for sure. But hey, think about it!"

"Yeaup, I'll ask." You say curtly before hanging up the line and tossing your phone to the next cushion behind you.

Guess you're dating your TV now. 

You groan into your hands, hoping he just never brings it up again. You supposed you could always pretend you broke up with your fictional boyfriend if he does ask. He has that friend of his anyhow so he shouldn't be bugging you anymore. Hopefully.

"Sorry, Tenna. We've been dating for all of two minutes and we already have to break up." You snicker at your reflection before turning back to the ceiling and draping an arm over your eyes. "Not like we can hold hands anyway.." The words sound almost too realistically disappointed.

A yawn escapes you. 

You're neglecting dinner again, and your groceries are still sitting on the table.

But a little nap wouldn't hurt right? 

It seems you've made a habit of falling asleep in front of the television, whether it's on or not.

When you open your eyes again, there's no sunlight to be found of course. You must have napped a little too long, despite telling yourself you wouldn't. But then why was the moonlight also missing? The only light you could see was faint and coming from a windowless wall, just behind your head.

The cushions to your left come into view, then the ceiling as your head rolls, and to the right, well, the source of that faint light. 

Your television is floating, and a large familiar shadow now sits below it on your console once more. You've found yourself where you were the night before and feel as equally heavy as you did then.

The shadow folds one impossibly long leg over the other and leans forward. It... He cradles your TV- no, his head- in his hands and looks at you. You can see a faint smile on the blank screen of the television, just below his long nose. He looks content, as if he's watching his favorite show. Yet he seems oblivious to your stare.

The more you look at him, the more the shadow starts to fill in properly with the finer details. Details that differed from the drawing you were given.

But thanks to that, you know his name, don't you.

Your lips part. You can move them. But your voice initially catches in your throat. You're too afraid to say anything. Your mind tells you you're just having a weird bout of sleep paralysis again but that curious part of you is back, and telling you not to miss your chance this time.

What if he can hear you?

"Ten-" The hoarse sound slips from your mouth. You've impulsively, stupidly, unthinkingly, called to him. But only partially- the rational part of you cut you off. But that little sound is enough. 

His smile falls, his posture changes.

He sees you. 

The shock of it all wakes you with a force you lacked before, which unfortunately flings you onto the ground below you with a hard thud. It's a rude awakening but at least the pain is proof that you are awake.

The now setting sun shines on you down there, to which you squint. You hadn't been asleep long, but you had been asleep. Right? You slowly, nervously, peek your head up from behind the edge of the table to eye your TV. It's off, and looks just as it always has. Because of course it does. Your forehead meets the tabletop, hard, and you sigh. You're relieved but also annoyed.

It's only been a day but you've already experienced enough weird shit around this TV that you're struggling to come up with excuses for it. How many more times was 'It's just a dream/ your imagination'  going to work when it was barely even working now. 

'Why deny what's clearly happening?'

Even if you stop denying that your television has some sort of sentience, or that its persona comes to you in your dreams and watches over you for some reason, what would it matter? What would it change? You wake up and he's just a television. As he always has been, and always will be. He can't talk to you, or he would have. He can't keep you company, or even leave your house. He can't stay with you when you're sick, or wish you goodnight, or hold your hand. It was safer to delude yourself about reality, than to get lost in some fantasy that'd just leave you miserable again.

You roll your head to the side, squishing your cheek to the table so you could see Tenna.

He's motionless.

A single tear falls over the burning bridge of your nose.

It's just a TV, as it always has been.

That night, you sleep in your bedroom.

Chapter Text

Today you deign to wake to the sounds of birds outside your window. The little ray of light that managed to sneak through your drawn curtains and land perfectly on your eyes was just a bonus slap to the face.

You roll over with a grunt and pull your comforter over your head to ignore it all. Your eyes were still too heavy, too puffy, but unfortunately the birds were holding choir practice today.

You snake out from the covers to check your phone with a groan- it's almost six in the morning, yet again. The fact only encourages you to slink into comfort once more. You hoped your internal clock wasn't getting used to this, since there was no guarantee you'd continue to even sleep on time. You only ended up sleeping early last night because you cried yourself to sleep, anyway.

The memory has you burying your whole face in your pillow with a heavy sigh. Of course you were more level headed now, mostly, which left you feeling more embarrassed than anything. You let yourself be hopeful just to immediately talk yourself into the cons of it all, and you're not entirely sure why. When now you were desperate to doubt any of it all over again, to stay ignorant to the strange. But, your last interaction confirmed something was there, watching you for some reason. There just seemed to be a wall between you.

You can only see him when you're half asleep- being the main issue. Then there was the curiousness of why he could see you, but also couldn't. What had been different about each of those times. Were there cracks in the wall that you'd slipped through? Would it be possible to do it again? But what even triggered the sleep paralysis demon to come to you in the first place? Just sleeping in the living room?

You groan, scratching your head as you try and think.

Maybe calling him a sleep paralysis demon was a bit mean.

If only you could just talk to him outside your dreams where you'll just wake up immediately the second you try.

What were you supposed to do, talk at him and hope he listens? Could he even see you through the TV? What would you accomplish that way anyway if he can't talk to you?

You stop to think a little clearer. He's clearly not just a TV right? Wherever he's astral projecting from or whatever, he clearly has a body. He's seemingly just your TV while you're awake.

Angel, could you even call him 'yours' like that anymore? It felt wrong the more you thought about him being his own person. 

This was starting to get confusing.

You're less quick to dismiss the possibility now however- that you might be able to at least communicate. People find a way to speak to spirits, right? You've seen stuff like that online loads of times. Surely you can do something similar with the television.

When you try and think about it more openly, you realize an older TV like that shouldn't be able to turn itself on and off. At least not unless it was malfunctioning, you assume. And what if he could manipulate the channels as well? There was that time you conveniently found what you wanted as soon as you spoke it aloud. It felt a little too convenient now.

Where did his influence stop and coincidence begin?

You sit up and look toward your bedroom door. You could just go out there and ask- put your theory to the test. But the negativity in the back of your mind keeps you. There's no guarantee. You just have a television that apparently watches you as much as you watch it. You'll be disappointed again.

But is that so bad?

Your voice of reason calls you to act.

Could you really go on without even trying?

So what if you could only spare glances at each other? He was still real, wasn't he? The comfort you felt when seeing him was unmistakable- genuine. Having him just be able to listen to you didn't sound like the worst deal.

Besides, he looked very happy just being able to watch you sleep. A fact that makes your cheeks flush instantly. You'll have to just not think about it.

❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ 

You spend the next half hour pacing around your room to gather your thoughts as well as a list of things you'd like to ask, before deciding to just write down the more important ones. Your thoughts were much too loud to remember them, and there wasn't a paper long enough to fit all you wanted to ask anyway. Though even with them written down, you're not entirely sure you feel emotionally ready to actually do this.

You've barely touched the doorknob and your heart is already drumming in your chest.

You couldn't just stay in here forever, though. Not when literally everything else you'd need to get by was outside it. You had to get this over with.

"Dammit.." You knew it all too well.

Past your door your living room is quiet, lit up beautifully by the morning sun. Shadows of branches blowing back and forth decorate your floors and walls and while the sun makes the dust in the room evident, it also adds an ethereal quality to it. You feel as if going out there might disturb that. Then again, that was also you just making up excuses.

You have to exit the hallway anyway. If he's there, he's already seen you. There's no turning back now.

"G-" You cough into your fist as your voice cracks, "Good morning.." It still comes as a mumble as you speed walk into the kitchen. 

You planned to have something to eat to distract yourself but now you're not so sure you'd be able to hold anything down. Instead you just find yourself hiding behind the wall dividing kitchen from living room. It's all starting to feel too real, but you have to calm yourself. You haven't even done anything yet, for Angel's sake. You barely have one foot in that doorway.

You breathe deep, and exhale, until you feel yourself relax just a bit, just enough to peek past the wall. You can see the side of the TV from here, but wonder if he can see you this way. His screen is a bit rounded, but does it even work that way? Would that make up his peripherals? His actual head is also a TV, right? Is it also- You shake off the excess questions. It's not something to worry about right now.

Right now, you had to confront your one living room appliance. It sounded too ridiculous even in your head.

Slowly, you step out into the living room and take a quick seat on the floor behind your coffee table and look up at him. 

It feels a bit too formal, so you push it just a bit closer and slap your paper onto it in front of you. You almost kind of feel ready.

"Um.. C...can you hear me?" You clear your throat both to calm yourself and clear that cowardice infecting it.

The TV is still, with not a single buzz around it. 

"Are you...there? Y...you are right?" Your reflection looks restless.

You begin to wonder if perhaps he can't really see you right now after all. Unless there was another way to get his attention. Like when you called his name.

You squeeze your eyes shut and muster up your courage to call for him.

"T..Tenna..?"

You have to call to him properly.

You clear your throat and try again.

"Tenna, are you there?"

You suddenly feel the hairs on the back of your neck begin to stand.

When you open your eyes, you're met with a gray screen instead of the usual black, followed by a low hum and soft crinkling of static that slowly fills the screen.

Relief sags your shoulders a bit. It worked. But your stomach is in knots all over again. It worked.

Your mind quickly blanks and you don't muster much besides staring at him with your mouth agape. You simply can't believe he's actually there, despite seeing it plain as day now. It wasn't the same kind of disbelief you'd held just a day ago, anyway.

"Uh... Um..." You mentally slap yourself. The words on your paper look like chicken scratch now. "Shit, just, give me a minute. I just.." The static concentrates in the center of the monitor, its shape almost mouth-like. A familiar but more distorted version of a smile you'd once seen. "You're...real." You sigh and lean into the table. Only to bounce back curiously, "Then does this mean...you really can hear me?"

The static hums and moves slightly, followed by a sound of buzzing. Unfortunately you don't know what that means. You vaguely see the mouth move but you didn't understand a thing. You resist the urge to freak out regardless. You can't understand a damn thing but he's absolutely talking to you. Unfortunately, this makes things more difficult. How are you supposed to talk to him like this?

You sigh, "I can't hear you.." You see the static curve downward and it brings a somber smile to your face. "You can see me, can't you?"

The static vibrates softly, though you can't read the mouth it forms you're sure he just gave you a simple yes.

"I can't see you either. Well, maybe I can? I see a mouth..I think." It changes as you say that. "Are you...grinning right now?"

The fact it seems to widen answers your question well enough.

"I can see it, just a bit if I squint." You rub at your eyes to ease them, but it blurs his image. "Sorry.." If only you could see the disappointment on his face. Perhaps it was better you couldn't.

It seems your screen connects to his face, mirroring it but only slightly. Unfortunately your communication is heavily limited, and only on your end. He has a clear view of you yet yours is broken and distorted. The wall between you now seems thicker than when you're asleep in more than one way.

"I have an idea- You're obviously talking on your end. So can you say 'yes' out loud for me please? Only 'yes'." 

The static vibrates softly once again before returning to normal. 

"Now, can you say 'no' for me, please? And, just 'no'."

The static hums this time, its sound much lower.

You recall a ghost hunting video online once where they did something similar, and you almost can't believe it works here.

You nod along, "I think I understand." You see the static move back into a small smile. "So, the sound changes on my end. Not a lot but, it's enough to maybe ask you some simple questions." You'd have to modify some of your questions and toss out the rest unfortunately. "If that's okay with you? I don't want to make you feel like I'm interrogating you off the bat o-or anything."

To your surprise, he hums a yes. That makes you feel a little less nervous. 

"So your name is Tenna, right?" He gives you a yes, and while you already knew this, it doesn't make his confirmation any less surprising. "Okay. Wow. So..." You don't intentionally go back on your word with your next question, but you need answers and fast. "Have you been watching me?" you figured it'd be best to just pull off that band-aid now anyway.

You're not quite sure about it, but it seemed his 'mouth' lost any sort of curve when he answers you with hesitation, but confirmation.

You try and hide the shock on your face but fail miserably. At least you don't look angry.

"Have you been watching me the whole time?" He denies this, but not that it has been often. "Are you...able to choose whether you watch me or not?"

The silence lasts longer this time, until another yes comes through.

Oh. Oh.

"I-I'm not upset! Just... I guess I want to ask why, but.. You can't really answer that, huh?"

The static dims slightly. You're unsure what that might mean or if he's even saying anything, but it makes you feel a bit down all the same.

"H-Hey! I mean, I watch you too, right? Eye-for-an-eye or whatever?" You laugh it off to ease the awkward tension which seems to make him feel better.

You glance at your paper again and decide to quickly change the subject.

"So then what about Toriel, and Kris, and the rest of the Dreemurrs. Did you often watch them too?" Another yes. That made sense. He just watches over his owners, doesn't he? "You must have cared about them a lot." It wasn't a question, but he confirms it anyway. Though his answer comes with a lower hum that makes you think he's saddened about something. 

"You must miss them.. I bet you would have wanted to stay there, right? Sorry that you ended up with me. I'm a bit new to this too."

He's quiet for a moment before saying no, to your surprise and confusion.

"No? A-are you really okay with being with a stranger now? I mean, you were with them for so long. Like, since Kris was just teeny-tiny, right?" You hold your hand up to about the coffee table's height, where you imagine little Kris may have reached once.

He gives you another no to your confusion.

"Er.. Maybe I should ask a bit slower. Do you miss them?" He gives you a yes. "Then how are you okay with this?" You think to rephrase that. "Are you okay with being with me now?" He gives you another yes. "Even though we're strangers?" Another no.

You begin to realize what he's trying to say. He's alright with the arrangement because you aren't strangers. Of course he would know you if you've been to the Dreemurr house. Maybe not as well as them, but perhaps enough?

"I get it now! We've technically met before right?" Another yes. Though, speaking of meeting, you're reminded of the day he was given to you. "You were watching the other day, weren't you? Back at their house?" Another yes. "I could see you a lot better than I can now.." You're unsure of why that was.

"But hey, at least we don't have to worry about formalities, huh? You already know my name and I know yours." You'd still probably shake his hand if you could. "But that does lead me to a few other questions..." 

You ask him if Toriel is aware of him, which he denies, and that leaves you wondering if he never made himself known or if she just simply couldn't see him. Next you ask about Kris or Susie, considering their curious behavior. Through various questions, you manage to gather that they know of him, but not much else. They've at least been able to talk to him much like you have, but chalked it up to the TV being haunted- ironically. Yet still treated him kindly. You wonder why he's come to you in your dreams in that case. If only you could ask him.

You stand and remove the table from in between you two, instead using it as a seat to get a good eye-level look at him. "Don't get upset, but I thought the same thing at first." His mouth straightens. "Hey, some of the townsfolk are ghosts, so I thought perhaps we had another dormant in there ir something. Things like this...don't happen around here."

The static fizzles low, and his mouth moves as if he's speaking to himself. You can't understand it of course, and when you ask him about it he assures you it's nothing.

You cross your arms and hum in thought, "Well, if you're not a ghost then I could only wonder what you are or where you're from. Like I don't have much to go on, but there's no way you're from another world or something, right?" 

He surprises- no, shocks- no, flabbergasts you by letting you know that's exactly right. You insist he must be messing with you but he denies it at every turn, only sparking more and more questions. If only you could get more substantial answers out of him. For now he seemed entertained with your reaction.

"Then, this might sound weird okay? But, you're aware you're a TV in my living room right now, yes?" He agrees with this. "Is this TV...you?"

He surprisingly gives you a yes and a no.

"Is it a part of you?" He confirms this, but you're not sure what to make of it. "Hm.. Excuse me, okay?" You gently touch your hand to the top of the screen, where you assume his forehead would be. "Can you feel this?" He confirms it, with a bit of a laugh. "Curious." Your fingertips feel electric.

Droplets of rain hitting against your windowsill pull your attention away. What would have happened to him had Toriel thrown him out? That must be why Kris insisted you take him.

A small buzz gets your attention back.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." You give the top of the TV a gentle pat, only to be reminded of the last time you used him. "Oh no.." Your pat turns into furious smoothing. "I...I hit you yesterday! I'm so sorry, I didn't know.."

He's laughing again. The vibrations ring in your ear, and for a second you think you hear more than just static. But only for a second.

"I... I just thought that would fix the- Wait. Were you doing that?"

He's immediately silent, implicating himself, but tries to say no. You suppose you can forgive him messing with you if he can forgive the little smack you gave him.

"Well, anyways.. How about we move on. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?" There is. You stick your tongue out at him, "Too bad." 

You feel a bit bad for laughing, but less so when you can see the smile taking shape again.

But then it straightens, and dims. Then you can't see it anymore. 

"Tenna?"

Silence. Then a small buzz, but his screen remains gray.

"Ah, I suppose I've been keeping you. You.. have to go, don't you?"

He hesitates before confirming your suspicions. It feels too soon. You felt as if you were just getting comfortable with him.

"Um. Will I be able to talk to you again?" You blurt the question out so suddenly you surprise even yourself. But you can see a faint smile now, and it makes you hopeful. Perhaps He hadn't really thought that to be an option. "Maybe next time you can tell me about what you do over there? Well, I try and guess and you tell me if I'm close or not." You laugh. 

He grows quiet again, his attention seemingly elsewhere, until you, regrettably, give him the push to hurry along. With a goodbye wave, the TV blinks and returns to the cartoon channel you'd left it on yesterday.

A breath you didn't know you'd been holding immediately leaves you. You're shaking more than you thought you'd be. But that just happened, after all. That really just happened. You talked to him. Well, sort of.

You're unable to sit still, instead pacing back and forth as you wonder what he must be up to. For you, it's Saturday, but for him? Did he have a job? A family? Kids? Did jobs exist there? How would a TV man have kids anyway? What is their even anatomy like? No that's too personal. What sort of job would he have? Were there others like him? What other sort of people existed in his world? Was your toaster among them? You did always get a funny feeling from it.

You're flooded with questions you wish you'd asked sooner. Though perhaps it was best you missed your chance- you might end up overwhelming him. He wouldn't be able to answer half of them anyway.

If there was a next time, you'd just have to make the best of it. And you hoped there was. You were already excited to talk to him again.

Luckily, it doesn't take long. When you see him again, it's already past noon but it is at least within the same day. You're in the middle of watching a drama when the TV begins to buzz with static. At first you assume it to be losing signal before wondering if he's perhaps trying to make himself known. So you call out to him, and your show disappears.

You rub at your eyes and sniffle, "Tenna! You're back..." His light is low, and you can barely make out a straight line in place of a smile through your blurred vision. "Oh, don't mind me. That movie was just.. That poor dog." You can't help the sob, but you try not to look terribly sad at least.

He seems to be saying something but you still can't seem to understand it. 

You clear your throat and fan your face, "I'm good! Whew. Have you seen that one?" Of course he has. "Powerful stuff I tell you." You almost think he's pouting with how he stays quiet and still. "Is something wrong?" He denies it. "Did you have a rough day?" He denies that too. "Something's clearly up, and I'm running out of questions to use here."

He's quiet again, but then the static moves and takes shape into what looks like raindrops falling from the top of the screen before showing you his frown once more.

"How did you do that?" You miss his point, entirely too impressed. "It is raining here, actually. Can you see it?" You point to the window at your side but he denies that. "Is that.. not what you meant?" Another no. It takes your sniffle for you to understand. "Wait, because I'm crying? That's just because of the movie!" You laugh as the static settles back into a straight face. "Don't tell me you were worried."

He gives you a yes, and you take a wild guess. 

"Because of yesterday?" Maybe he didn't expect you to catch on so quickly this time, but he confirms this. You were kind of hoping you didn't have to talk about it, but since it came up you felt you may as well. "I was just overwhelmed at the time." You sigh. "I've..been alone for a long time now. I tell myself I'm used to it, that I'm not lonely. But...I am sometimes. And then you kept showing up in my dreams and making that so much more apparent to me!" He frowns. "But it's not your fault. I do wish we could go out and chat over coffee or something.." You beam at him, "but I'm okay with this too."

His screen briefly gains a pink hue to your amusement.

"I think I needed someone to talk to. Someone who wasn't Toriel, anyway. I can't go worrying her anymore. But I guess I also can't tell her I'm friends with the television she gave me.. She might think there's something genuinely wrong with me."

He turns pink again, this time his screen showing you two little pixelated palm trees dancing together.

"What does that even mean?" You laugh.

A bit silence fills the space between you as his 'face' returns. You can feel him staring and it's putting you on the spot a bit.

"Um.. so..do  you even like coffee?" He says yes, almost immediately. "Let me guess- black?" Another yes. "I figured. You look like a no nonsense man." He seems to like the sound of that. "Personally, I like mine with some sweetness. Not enough to taste gross, but enough that I can forget it's coffee." You laugh, and you can see him join you this time.

You sigh and lean back into your couch, pulling your legs up to your chest. You watch him now, and see his smile change curiously. "It's not fair, you know. I can't see you, but you can see everything in front of you, can't you?" His confirmation makes you pout. "I barely even get to see you." You glance at the top of his head. "Well, I do have this that I can look at." You hop to your feet and step up to grab the piece of paper you'd left there only to hold it open in front of him. "Kris gave me this."

The screen turns a bright red when you show it to him, static buzzing about frantically.

You pull it back and take a look at it, "What? It's cute, isn't it?" But that doesn't seem to relax him. You decide to poke the bear a bit, "Thanks to Kris, I know exactly what you look like! Wasn't that so nice of them?" You didn't know it was possible for him to get any redder, but perhaps you were naive to the scale of color he had. "I'm only kidding." He stills. "I know it's-" You look to the drawing once more and compare it to your memory. The drawing was obviously a silly rendition of him while the real him was- "Ahem. It's uh.. It's not very accurate." You leave it at that and put the drawing back on his head before returning to your seat on the couch.

You decide to change the subject and do your best to find out how his day was and what he does besides watch you, something he again fails to see the humor in. It's a bit like playing hot and cold but you eventually gather that he, shockingly, works in television. 

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised." You shrug. You do wonder how exactly that even works.

You ask him if he knows what you do, and when he says he does you assume he's gathered that from your many meetings with Toriel.

"So you've been paying attention, huh?" You tease. "What else do you know about me that I should know about?" You're leaning against the table at this point with your head in your hands, swinging your head from side to side. "Hopefully nothing embarrassing?"

He's lucky he can't answer that one. 

"Whatever it is, I'll forgive you if you give me a tour of your workplace sometime."

He wasn't sure how to answer that, to which you laugh. 

"So that little trick you did earlier- what else can you do?"

He shows you a few more pixel animations- an applause sign, three bouncing question marks, a heart, a heart breaking, sweeping stars. All presets. It reminds you of the screensavers the older PCs in the computer lab have. Unfortunately this means you're barely a step closer to advancing your conversations with him.

"I think I like the dancing trees most."

So he shows them to you once more, the silly representation of your friendship.

"I can show you a little trick too, if you like." Question marks appear. "I can't do that, obviously, but you're on a time limit right? I should at least make it worth your time to have come to see me."

Pixelated spotlights show up at each corner of his screen. Amusingly, you sit between them in your reflection. He's clever.

"Okay, so it's something my grandma taught me." You stand and grab three of the eggs off the console from around him and sit on the table where you throw them up into the air, only to catch them and juggle them. "I actually used to do tricks like this for Kris when they were a bit younger." He makes a small sound. "Guess you knew that, huh?" You feel him staring intently as you move your hands swiftly. You juggle the three eggs for a bit more before quickly pulling one out of the group. "Do you remember how Asriel would always spoil the magic by saying 'you just put it up your sleeve!'." You now juggle two in one hand while holding the other nearby. With a wave of your hand, it's gone. "Well, I started to get a bit creative." You continue to juggle the eggs in your hand before reaching into your mouth and pulling the third to reintroduce into the group, once again you juggle three. "Showed him this one at school. Shut him right up." You laugh. 

He gives you the applause graphic just as you catch the eggs, and you feel your cheeks flush. It'd been a while since you performed that, or any real trick, and his appreciation made you painfully bashful. 

You giggle nervously as you wipe off the egg and return it to its place with the others, "I'm glad you liked it. I promise they don't all involve putting things in my mouth, though. Its um.. not very sanitary. Same reason I never showed Kris that one. I wasn't about to be blamed for that bad habit.." 

You ask him if he's ever worked with magicians before, and he denies this to your shock.

"Really? I thought you might have if you've worked on all manner of shows. You know, kids love that stuff! They don't care about the whole bit being 'smoke and mirrors', just how cool it looks in the moment. Kris used to love card tricks the most. Guessing their  card right, or making one disappear and reappear in their pocket. I'd show you one, but I gave them my deck some time ago. ...I wonder if they still have it?"  

Despite the question being more for yourself, Tenna answers it anyway. 

"Oh? They do, do they?" He reconfirms that. "Do you think they still use it?" He confirms again, and you smile. "You know, you probably shouldn't snitch like that." He looks shocked, static mouth agape, "But I appreciate knowing. You know how teenagers are, they'd probably be too embarrassed to tell me themself. Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." The raindrops come back around, only you understand them to be sweat drops in this case.

You continue to tell him how your grandmother used to be something of a carnie in her younger days before settling in town and taught you several tricks growing up. Unfortunately not any of the carnie tricks you would have loved to know. 

"I think she made the right choice not to teach me sword swallowing, at least." You shrug. "But she did teach me as many illusions as I wanted! She was amazing at sleight of hand." You sigh. "I could never beat her. Especially not if I..." Your voice catches in your throat. "Sorry, I don't mean to be a downer. I'm happy to talk about her, to tell more people about her. I just.."

The way you struggle to hold your smile, or even his gaze, tells him all he needs to know. It was unfortunately a hole in your heart that hadn't closed, even after all this time.  He knew too well, after all. The way your heart broke that day. The image of it had burned into his screen. Not that you had to know about that. At least, not now.

You're quick to clear your throat and push your feelings back. You couldn't keep crying in front of him like this.

"Let's talk about something else, hm? There's something I've been wondering." He obliges you, the question marks making their return. "What does 'Ant' stand for?" He obviously can't answer that in any meaningful way but you continue in a way he can, "You know, in 'Ant Tenna'? Is it Anthony?" No. "Antonio?" No. "Antoinette?" He knew you were just taking the piss now. "Don't tell me it's literally just Ant!" Yes. "There's no way!" 

You're about to argue further when his screen buzzes with an alarm graphic. He has to go once more, but at least he has an easier way of letting you know now.

One glance at your own clock let you know you somehow ended up chatting for two hours.

"Ah, time sure flies.." He seems to sense your disappointment and gives you a blooming flower graphic. "Thanks, but duty calls, right? You can..." You twiddle your thumbs together nervously. "You can come around again if you like. Just give me the same signal, alright?"

He smiles, making a silent promise between you, and your TV clicks back to the channel your were previously on. But your drama is long over.

The second time around doesn't leave you feeling as uneasy. Instead you're left feeling as if you'd just caught up with an old friend. It left you with a feeling not too dissimilar from the one you'd felt when you first met him.

Ease.

❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ 

You end up sleeping on the couch that night but unfortunately you wake dreamless. On the bright side, come morning, he's already there when you open your eyes. It seems he showed up just in time to wish you a good morning, or at least that's what you assume by the little sun graphic he gives you. Unfortunately, you have to go out and don't get to see him for the rest of the day. You sleep in your room that night to prepare for the work day, but not before leaving a note propped up on the coffee table for him that you'll see him again soon.

In a blink, a week goes by where you go about your daily routine only to occasionally have him throw you off it. But it's welcomed. It's at random times that he even shows up, sure, and sometimes you don't even talk, but you know that whenever your show disappears it means he's there. Keeping you company all the same.

It got to the point where Toriel noticed and teasingly asked you if perhaps you started seeing someone. The very thought gave you chills, reminding you only of the last phone call you'd received. You told her you had just been sleeping better these days and you're not sure why, but she seemed pretty happy about that. Enough to drop the subject, even.

Before you knew it, Sunday morning had reared its ugly head for the third time since you approached Tenna. 

Per usual, you wander into your living room with a yawn, and say your usual 'good morning' to him, whether he's actually there or not, and grab yourself some water. You're oddly more dazed than usual this morning, your water spilling down your chin absentmindedly. Despite sleeping in your room, you'd had a dream about him. Though you did just assume you had to sleep in the living room, you had no reason to believe otherwise since this was the first time it'd happened. The only different here was that you were standing, right in front of him, but he couldn't seem to see you no matter how much you waved. When you finally tried to reach for him, you woke up.

You're on your way back to your room when a crinkle of static grabs your attention. You're TV has flipped on, which was normal at this point. It was the constant channel swapping he was suddenly doing that threw you off.

"Hell....o! Good....Mor...ing!" A mix of characters and actors' lines mixed together to form the sentence as best as possible.

You drop your water, and your jaw. "H...how did you do that?!"

The channel changes to someone laughing. 

You run up to him and grab his sides, shaking him lightly in excitement. "You can talk?! I mean, kind of, but... You can talk!"

"Hey! Watch....the...hair!" 

And you laugh in awe, but do at least let go of him. 

That day you're able to have a more fulfilling conversation, even if it does take a little longer both to speak and understand. You're able to ask him if he was around the night before, which he denies, and you hesitate to answer why when he asks, fearing that perhaps you'd just had a normal dream about him. And admitting that would just be embarrassing.

Unfortunately he has to leave around sundown, but he's at least able to say goodbye now.

Monday rolls around, but you don't catch him before work. You assume you may see him later, even stay up a bit later than usual, but he never shows. You chalk it up to him being busy with work to lessen your disappointment. Come Tuesday, you don't catch him until after work. It's as you'd assumed, and he can't stay long, so you wish him good luck.

He reminds you to eat dinner. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

Wednesday you do see him before work, but to your surprise he's waiting for you when you come home as well. You worry he should be working, since he doesn't seem to take a day off ever, but he tells you he did exactly that- and to talk to you at that.

"Are...you sure you should do that?" Your stomachs doing flips but you ignore it. It just felt nice to be thought about is all. "You've been so busy and I don't want you to feel obligated!"

But he assures you it's okay because it's 'All thanks to you'.

You're not sure what that means, but he asks you about your day before you can ask him any more.

You miss him again Thursday morning, assuming he must have gone back to work. He's still not around when you get home, so you decide to wait, but leave another note for him to do his best in case you fall asleep.

And you eventually do, but your dreams are light and unrelated to him. 

When you return home it seems he's still away, marking the longest he'd been away so far, and you wonder if he's at least taking breaks. With how much of a workaholic he seems to be, you can't help but worry.

You leave another note reminding him to drink plenty of water and take a quiet night to yourself to catch up on your stories. Or at least you try to. Somehow you ended up thinking about Tenna once again, the very thoughts slowly lulling you to sleep.

You're not sure how long you've been asleep when you open your eyes once again. It's dark to the point your eyes struggle to see and you remember you'd slept with the TV off this time. Perhaps the moon was hiding behind the trees, because you couldn't see a bit of its light either.

You rub at the sleep in your eyes and sit up to look for your phone, your hand blindly patting around the couch. Strangely enough, you can't seem to find it. You check the table to similar results. Perhaps you knocked it off in your sleep? It was in your hand, wasn't it? You assume it must have fallen somewhere nearby and stand to get a better look.

And then your eyes begin to adjust to the dark.

There is no couch anymore, no table. Just your console and a large, familiar, shadow sitting atop it. 

This dream is familiar, much, or perhaps exactly like the one you'd had from your room.

Meaning you can move. So you do, closer to the shadow as carefully as you can. You can't wake just yet, not this time. Now a mere foot away from each other, and look up at him. He's shrouded in shadow, more than usual, his face full of dark static. 

If you're simply dreaming normally, could this be how your brain sees Tenna? It's been a while since you dreamed of him after all.

You tentatively reach a hand toward him, knowing if you touch him you'll only wake up.

'But what if!' A voice you hadn't heard in a while wiggles its way into your head. 

With a what if in your  heart, you cut the distance between you and touch his hand.

You're still here, still in front of him.

And he's aware of it.

Your heart sinks as his screen slowly moves down to face you. It flips and drums in your chest with the worry that you'll soon wake, when you're right here, right in front of him, and he can almost, almost see you.

You squeeze his hand. You don't want to wake up.

Just as it seems the shadows around him are thinning, you feel yourself falling backwards, toward nothingness. The floor you stood on, now vanished. You reach for him with a gasp, and he moves, but you just barely miss each other.

The dim light of his screen grows distant, and you're shrouded in darkness anew.

Chapter Text

Though you expect to wake mid fall, it never comes. You're instead met with cold hard stone.

You groan and glance around as you rub at your backside. It's dark, painfully dark, and your only company is a faint light you know not the source of. It moves with you, showing only what's immediately in front of you- the stone you landed on, and a deteriorated wood bridge connected to it. You look behind you to see a touch more of stone, but nothing beyond it. The path begins and ends here.

"Where-" You're shocked by the sound of your own voice, having forgotten you even had one. You hadn't been able to speak before, but you supposed you hadn't tried this second time around.

You try to stand, but a searing pain shoots through your entirety and sends you crumbling back to the floor with a wince. That's unusual, isn't it? You shouldn't feel something like pain. You could barely even feel Tenna's hand under yours, so why were you feeling the impact of the fall all of a sudden, or the cold of the stone for that matter? Weren't you dreaming?

You try to convince yourself of this, just a bit.

You're more successful on your second try, and while it still hurts like hell, you're able to walk. Well, limp. It doesn't feel like anything's broken, at least. You make toward the start of the bridge for a better idea of where you are, your footsteps clearing a clump of shadow, but you can't see anything beyond what you clear. You can barely even see yourself in the thick. Regardless, you're painfully sure there's only one path. You're not even going to attempt the sides around you. A cold breeze from below tells you all you need to know.

A shiver runs through you. It wasn't in your plans to suddenly shift into a nightmare. Though it made you uneasy how no matter how hard you tried wake yourself now, you just couldn't. Is this what you get for fighting against it before?  Well, at least you seem to be lucid. Shouldn't that mean you can try to fly or something? You jump, putting the theory to the test with the expectation to lift off, but land flatly with absolutely zero fanfare and another spike of pain instead. 

"Oh course not.." You whimper. 

Your breath is uneasy as you take another step. Though your path is 'clear' it's not any less creepy. Should you be grateful you ended up somewhere with any path at all? Not yet at least.

Despite your aches, you step carefully, slowly, your path a tightrope your balance was never good enough for. Every gust of wind threatens to push you away and you already feel the vertigo kicking in at the mere thought of the depths, but you can't afford to close your eyes here . The shadows behind you sit smudged and disturbed along the bridge, but reveal nothing more than what you've walked. This was still the only path forward.

Every step you take echoes around you and shoos more shadow away and for a second you catch your feet. It may be the darkness and creeps getting to you, but you almost don't recognize your own slippers.

"It's just a dream. It's just a dream." You have to stop, just for a moment to breath. To relax yourself and push the nausea away. "This sucks.." You swallow your nerves and continue with one eye open.

The path feels endless. You've been walking for a while not but nothing around you has change. Unfortunately when you decide to turn back you find the once smudged bridge behind you gone and the bridge you stand on to be the new beginning. It gives you the motivation you needed to walk a little faster now.

"Dream, dream, it's a terrible dream but it's still a dream.." How much longer were you supposed to walk this path anyway? Until you woke up? Until your legs gave out? 

What if you never did. What if you had to really shock your body to do so? You don't want to look over the edge again, or to entertain that theory a second longer.

So you continue on, until you reach another stone path. It's longer, proving your progress, and has you turning and descending onto yet another bridge. Something you're not very happy about. At least the pain has subsided, so you can afford to be more annoyed than worried.

"Where the hell-" Your attempt to calm yourself with noise is interrupted by a foreign sound. An echo.  While the echoes have accompanied you this whole time from your footsteps, it was exactly why this made you freeze. This echo wasn't yours. No. No... Surely that's just your own bouncing off something you can't see. Surely it's your imagination.

Something or someone in the distance sneezes, followed by another echo. You take a step backward, back toward the only path. 

A white outline in the distance stands out to you. It makes up a masculine figure that seems to be coming your way. W hatever it is, seems to be made of shadow themself.

You've never turned around quicker.  "I'm... drea.." another chill runs down your back. Your path is too thin and unknown. You know you should be careful but you can't calm yourself enough to be anymore, breaking into a sprint away from the shadow. But the echo behind you has sped up as well.

"Shit.. Shit, shit, shit!" 

The sound of your frantic footsteps illuminates the path further, revealing a door not far in the distance. Colors flicker and dance from its frame, and while you're not sure what that means, there's no way around it, and no way above or below it. It seems you have to take the strange door.

You grit your teeth as you reach it, your feet skidding along the bridge path practically threatening to give out again. The path has ended and it sounds as if the shadow isn't far off behind you. You have to take the door. No more hesitation.

It being unlocked might be the best thing to happen to you since you opened your eyes, but you're not dumb enough to thank anyone just yet. 

A blinding light waits for you on the other side, making you recoil. Unfortunately whatever's behind you hasn't seemed to slow, their footsteps growing louder- more frantic.

You grit your teeth, hoping, begging, that this is your ticket to waking up, and jump through. You slam the door behind you, cutting off what sounds like a honk. All grows quiet for a moment. You're too afraid to open your eyes, only barely realizing just how tightly you'd even closed them. At least until something bumps into your shoulder and knocks you over.

You land ass first on hard stone once again, the pain forcing your eyes open. Noise floods your ears and you're immediately dazzled by your surroundings.

Neon lights shine down around you from an overcrowding of buildings, cars, and signs all around you. Strange looking people fill the sidewalk you occupy, seemingly either on their way to work or just out and about. It's a far cry from the empty space you were just in. No, you stand now in the bustling nightlife of an unknown city. And none of the people look familiar to you. Though you don't seem to look familiar to them either with the way they're looking at you. Perhaps it had to do with the dumbstruck look on your face as you sat on the floor.

A dark hand reaches down to you, surprising you. Panic follows your surprise at the sight of him. Until an identical man walks past behind him. 

He smiles at you.

He's not the one..?

You take his hand, and he effortlessly pulls you to your feet, tips his hat to you in apology, and saunters away with a...saxophone honk? You're left speechless, but at least with enough sense to move away from the crowd of moving people this time. You were starting to create traffic.

"S..sorry.." You mumble, scuttling toward a dip in the road by the window of a clothing store. "...Huh?" You gasp, freezing as you catch your reflection in the glass.

You look...different to say the least. From your skin to your clothes. You're not in your lounge wear anymore, instead dressed in some sort of costume.

Your shirt has been replaced by a black waistcoat with a while collar that crops at your waist and extends out into two long coattails behind you. What was once just your shorts have become a red bodysuit that begins around your neck and ends at your upper thighs. Leaving just an inch of skin between them and your 'shorts', were a pair of short heeled thigh boots with a white trim.

"Wh...what is this?!" You lean into the glass in confusion. The lack of sleeves in your outfit partially explained the chills you kept getting, but how did you never notice the swinging tails behind you, or the snap of your heel. Of course slippers don't make that sound!

The glass in front of you begins to fog from your frantic breathing and only then do you notice the yellow, sharp looking store attendant looking at you like you're some sort of specimen. "Um.." You step back and wipe the glass with your fist, but despite your good intentions it only creates a smudge. You decide instead to just walk off with a muttered apology. But he probably can't hear you anyway.

The more you walk, the bigger the headache you receive. Like before you're on a singular path only now you have too many options. There seem to be several roads and paths in every which way with all sorts of stores and businesses lining every inch of the streets. You've never been anywhere like this, and with everything else you've just experienced, it's nothing short of overwhelming.

You rub at your temples, wondering what you're even doing. You're just going nowhere, but at least you're doing it fast? You stop to consider that, and decide to take a proper look at your surroundings this time. 

You've reached yet another intersection where the road splits four ways. Roads B, C, and D all lead to an endless strip of city from the looks of it- road D being where you just came from. Road A on the other hand seems to come to a head at what appears to be the largest building in this whole city, perhaps even the heart of it all. It towered over all others by a long shot.

A skyscraper? Or a landscraper? It extended far in both directions, so who's to say.

Lights dance in the sky around it and line the ground of the lower buildings, brightening the place in a way that makes you wonder how you ever missed it. Maybe if you had just looked straight ahead of you sooner, you wouldn't have. Regardless. At the top sits a large LED sign, but the distance between you made it too hard to read whatever it said. You could at the very least make out that a figure stood beside it. 

"First time?" A gruff voice to your right startles you, directing your attention to a small pink man below you with a face that looks vaguely like an electrical socket. He carries a small suitcase with him, but you're unsure if he's go to or coming from work.

He stares at you expectantly. "Er.. Yeah?" Gosh, was it that obvious?

He chuckles loudly and points a tiny rounded hand at you, "I can tell! Newcomers all get that same starstruck look!" He says no more and simply hums softly as he skitters away down road B, leaving you wondering just what the hell that was about.

In fact, it leaves you feeling a bit offended.

"There yous are!" Another voice came from your left now and they seem to be talking to you. 

So you turn, but are instantly met with someone almost the exact opposite of your last encounter. Towering, blue, and seemingly faceless. He looks like some sort of security, but also vaguely like another household item you can't quite put your finger on. You begin to wonder if describing these odd people so straightforwardly might be considered offensive.

His head wiggles dramatically side to side as he talks, "We've been lookin' all ovuh. S'your turn to go up on stage."

"What? Huh? What are you talking about?" You take a step back, but he grabs your arm. Before you can ask any further, you're blinked out of the city streets and into a bright room with a couple vanities and racks lined with costumes. A singular monitor sits on the wall between the vanities, but it doesn't seem to be on right now. You recognize this to be a backstage. Backstage of where? That was something you couldn't answer.

"There you are!" A slightly raspy voice alarms you.

You're not sure if you can do this whole 'random people calling out to you' thing anymore.

A soft voice different from the first, followed by scurrying feet closing in on you. "Goodness you're late!"

You're quickly surrounded by a group of three short lapin women. So far, they look the most normal to you, despite their skin being shiny and iridescent. One is a pale blue, one a pale yellow, and the last pale pink. Each wears an identical skirt suit just a shade darker than their body. They look like they work here. Wherever here was.

You quickly step back but only end up bumping into the blue one who had snuck their way behind you. "I'm sorry... I don't know what you're talking about."

The pink one stands directly in front of you and wags her finger up at you, "Oh, no, no, no. The boss was about to blow his top, you know! You get lost or something, honey bun? I made sure to send you the right address, didn't I?" Her voice held authority, a balance between the other two's.

The blue one with the raspy voice sneaks her head under your arm and tuts, "No getting stage fright now!"

The yellow one hops from foot to foot beside you, biting her nails nervously. "I'm not sure this is the costume the boss approved.. Oh, he's gonna be hoppin' mad!" She was the more soft spoken. And apparently more jumpy.

Right. You are, in fact, in some kind of costume aren't you? Definitely not one someone's boss had approved you to wear. You hadn't even approved this!

"I'm sorry, who's your boss? I'm not even sure what I'm doing here." But they either ignore you or don't even hear you in the first place.

"There's no time!" The pink one gasps and straightens out your coat then gives your butt a quick dusting.

The blue one huffs while tying a golden bow tie around your neck. "It's all of our necks if we don't pull off a good show." Comforting.

Oh, Angel, they're not listening and they want you to perform? The only show you'd be able to give was one of you passing out the second you're on stage.

"Whoa, hold on! I'm not a performer!" But your cries go unheard once more.

"Oh, don't forget the final touch!" The yellow one adds, jumping to plop a top hat onto your head. 

They all step back to appraise you and beam, "After all, that's where the magic is~" They sing in unison.

You peek at one of the mirrors, your outfit looks complete now but-

Oh fuck, they think you're their magician. That made a painful amount of sense. Of all things. That last time you performed in front of someone who wasn't Tenna you were still a teenager, and even then you were just practicing. You couldn't hold a whole performance.

"Wait, if you'd just listen to me. I'm not-!" But they're already pushing you out the room and toward a curtain.

A booming voice announces 'your' presence on stage, just as the yellow woman gives you the final push. "It's an intermission show, so just keep them busy for a few and good luck!"

With that, all three disappear into the back while the curtain in front of you draws, catching you mid step to where you came from. A roaring applause floods your ears and rattles your head, and when you turn you're met with an audience bigger than you could even imagine. The lights shining down on your make it hard to make anybody out, but either way you're not sure you've ever even seen this many people in your life.

It's overwhelming once again. You don't even know what to do, and perhaps the audience can tell now that their applause have died down. 

You peek back to the dressing room, where the pink rabbit stands by just out of sight, watching you, and motions to your hat.

What was it they said about it?

You flip off your hat, and reach inside. The crowd cheers in surprise as you pull a wand out from within but you're sure no one's as surprised as you are. Obviously nothing hit you while you wore it, so how did it get in there? Aren't magicians all smoke and mirrors?

But this is a dream, isn't it?

You give the wand a twirl between your index and middle finger, tapping your hat as soon as it stops.

Surprisingly, something happens!

Out pops a rose, which you pull and throw onto the stage. Another replaces it, and you pull it as well. It gets replaced by a yellow daisy, followed by a white daisy, and then a rose again. You pull and pull, the flowers in your hat seemingly endless. So you change your tactic, and give your hat another tap and point it toward the crowd. Immediately they're rained upon with flowers and they seem pretty excited to catch them. As pretty as it looks and as cool as it feels, you feel a bit guilty that someone has to clean that up, but then again you didn't ask to be here anyway. You're just doing your best.

When your hat seems to finally be empty you take a peek, only for it to begin to shake. You drop it, nearly pulled down with it as it grows much too heavy for you to even hold. Suddenly, out pop a set of bright yellow ears with a white daisy stuck between them, as if blooming straight from her head. Her hand comes next and you take it and pull until the woman who threw you out here assisted you earlier is finally freed. The crowd cheers as she strikes a pose and throws the flower out to them before returning backstage.

A sense of comfort starts to bloom within you, and you almost feel like you know what you're doing. Unfortunately, no fortunately, the pink bunny taps at her watch and signals to you to make your exit. The way she moves her hands implies she wants you to make it big, however.

Of course you can do that.

You leave your hat on the floor, and circle it slowly before crouching down and giving it another tap. The crowd stays silent in anticipation as you pull out a long velvety cloth. You knowingly hold it high, draping it above you. When you let go, it remains floating. With a tap, you pull the cloth off, revealing a mimic of the door you'd seen before. The crowd's surprised 'oohs' buzz in your ears. You take a look at them, and pick up your hat, giving it a twirl before you drop it on your head and open the door. You step halfway through, and bow, before closing the door behind you.

When you lift your head you're backstage once again. The monitor on the wall seemed to be broadcasting your show, showing the door you'd left behind slowly fall over and disappear into smoke. When it settles, a singular daisy is left in its place, blooming solemnly from the stage.

The crowd is left cheering wildly.

But you can barely hear it over your heart.

"My goodness, what a trick!" The blue woman beams at you with pride, "You hear that? They loved it! We get to live!"

The yellow one hops in place, as she claps. "Can you blame them?! Say, how'd I end up in your hat anyway?" 

You tilt your head, "I.. Uh.." How were you supposed to know? Wasn't this their plan? "I guess anything's possible in a dream.." This was still a dream, right?

"Oh goodness, the time!" The pink one interrupts the others celebrations, and your thoughts, as she furiously taps her wristwatch once more. "As much as I'd love to stay and chat, we have to head to the boss's for the next show. If his coffee's even one degree colder than it should be, I'll never hear the end of it."

Right, the boss they keep talking about. You were starting to grow curious about this person. They must be important. Maybe they could help you.

"Excuse me, but who's-" The universe was working against you with the way they cut you off once more to push you out of the room and down a hallway until you were in some sort of lounge. It looked pretty cozy with just about everything you might need to relax after a show. Yet no one else was here.

The blue and yellow women give you a quick wave before scurrying off, whining about not wanting to to have to clean the creepy back rooms again.

"Great job improvising out there. Now. Stay here, and take a rest. Don't go anywhere outside of this room, okay? I'll be back for you later." She looks at you sternly, and for a second you feel like you're being scolded.

But the fact she had to look up at you made it less intimidating.

You're not really sure what to say to that other than, "Okay.." 

She seems satisfied with that and turns to follow behind the others. She gives you one last glance, and a wink, before disappearing around the corner.

Strange, you think. 

Wait a minute. Did she say improvising? And you completely missed your chance to get a word in for the fifteenth time maybe. Did she know you weren't the magician but used you in place of this missing one anyway? Is this what getting conned feels like? You're all lucky that gamble even worked out. No, it wouldn't have mattered right? What's the worst that could happen in a dream anyway?

And this is still a dream, right?

You scoff. Of course it is. It might feel very realistic in some ways, but it... has to be.

The woman's words repeat in your head as you think about the door you came from. You don't know what's out there so where would you even go? The hallway was littered in doors and you have no idea where any of them lead. This room on the other hand was your playground, and it had other doors. Doors no one said were off limits. You're not sure how long you'll be here, so why not explore a little?

A door mirrors the one you're prohibited from. Unfortunately a giant padlock holds it closed and a 'Management Only' sign above it marks it as another prohibited door. You click your tongue. No matter, you had two other doors just nearby! The first had a giant star painted on it that called to you, but behind it was nothing more than a long hallway leading to another unfortunately locked door. No sort of signage marked this one however, and it looked plain on comparison to the first. You can only wonder what might be behind it.

You regrettably leave the door behind and head to the next. This door is decorated with balloons and confetti. It seems to be of lesser rank than the one to its side.

You head inside, only to be met with an empty counter. A sign sitting on it reads 'Be back soons. No cheatin'!'.

To the side wait a few more doors and a singular vending machine. Exciting, you think. They're labeled descending from A to C, with the vending machine having a tiny D on it for some reason. You pat yourself to find you have pockets at your hips, but unfortunately no sort of currency. A shame. Though perhaps not entirely. The 'snacks' within look like trays of food. How were they supposed to come out?

You move on. Your next stop is the door label with a 'C' and past it is nothing but a water cooler. The room is small and houses it alone. 

You stare at it. A few bubbles gurgle from the bottom and slowly rise to the top. 

You decide to close the door. There's nothing in there for you.

The B door comes next but inside is seems to be a giant gumball machine. You don't have any money for this either and the flap within is too heavy for you to sneak a peak at a prize you could have won. Another bust.

By the time you reach the next door your expectations are one with the rug beneath your feet, so you're a bit surprised to find even more doors- actually decorated and painted at least- within. They appeared to be arcade rooms from the outside, but the first and second door are locked to you. You were starting to get sick of that. The third door however, while also locked, echoed with something within. You could just barely make out the sound of music. Now just what could be going on in there?

You sigh in defeat and make your way back to the main lounge where it seems you're truly meant to be. Still no one joined you, and still no one came. Where could everyone be? 

Well, if no one was here, surely they wouldn't mind if you help yourself, right?

You skip to the counter and rummage through its contents. All manner of drinks and mixers unknown to you sit below. Unfortunately, getting dream drunk in some mystery room isn't the most logical thing to do. A cart of ice to the side keeps an assortment of bottles and cans that look like friendlier options anyway. One in particular calls to you- a gray little can branded 'AT' with two pink palm trees curved together into a heart. The flavor reads 'Tropic Love'. Seems to be some sort of energy drink.

"I bet it's coconut.." You snicker. It almost always is. You don't stop to think about the irony of drinking caffeine and pop the can open. The flavor is fizzy and electric on your tongue. It tingles like static, or rather like popping candy. You don't expect to actually taste anything yet get a hint of orange to your surprise. It's sweet and creamy and definitely unexpected, but you find yourself taking another drink anyway.

With drink in hand, your way to one of the two large couches provided for you and set yourself against the one arm it has. A gray little CRT sits on a small table in front of you.

It fills you with homesickness.

You set your drink on the floor and bring your knees to your chest to rest your head on them. You're sure a good amount of time has passed by now but that woman still isn't back and there's nothing around here for you to even kill time with.

That is until you spot the little console connected tot he TV. When was the last time you'd touched one of these? 

Unfortunately, just as you're about to flip the console on, the doors to the room slam open, sending you jumping back into your previous seat.

"What do you mean, lost? How do you lose a whole entire person?!" A booming voice fills the room.

You recoil into yourself, pulling your knees up to your chest and making yourself as small as you possibly can. Whoever this is, they sound angry as all hell and you want nothing to do with that.

Heavy footsteps go back and forth for a few seconds, then their owner sighs in frustration. "I don't care what it takes. Do. It."

You hear a distant sound of something like a saxophone followed by a beep. Silence begins to fill the room only to be cut short by a chime, then a click.

They sigh heavily, "Tell me you've found something on your- Why do I hear music?" You don't mean to eavesdrop but you catch the screech of a guitar, followed by a beep. You hear a small buzz followed by some whispers. They seem to be telling themselves to calm down, but you can't pick up much else.

You'd been so busy trying to eavesdrop this time that the footsteps beginning again startles you. They're much softer than before but still very audible as they pass you by. You hear a quiet rummaging behind you, a tinkering of glass, the hiss of a can and liquid being poured. You're able to catch a couple loud gulps.

"That's the good stuff.." He sighs.

Then another hiss and flow, followed by more gulps. Whoever it was, they sure were thirsty. 

Their glass pounds against the countertop and they suddenly click their tongue. Something, perhaps their glass, gets tossed aside and broken. They're left tapping furiously at the counter only to grab a new glass and pour themself another drink.

Would now be a bad time to sprint out of here? But then again you were told to stay put. Maybe she didn't think anyone else would show up. But then again, again, this was clearly a break room to wherever you were so obviously people would come here. Surely they're not dangerous then, right?

"Hup!" The cushions beside you suddenly sink.

While you were arguing with yourself, whoever this was just hopped over the couch and sat themselves right beside you. 

You feel as if your heart might fail you.

"Mind if I sit here?" Their voice seems kinder as they address you, with a bit a bit of a cocky cadence.

They're already sitting there so what the hell are you supposed to say?

You shake your head quickly, burying it further into your knees. And it seems they saw your answer.

"'Preciate it!" 

In fact, it feels like they're staring at you. 

You hear another gulp, followed by the sound of their arm leaning atop the couch behind you. You must be sweating bullets by now.

"You look familiar.." They whisper.

Well, if you weren't sweating before, then you should be now.

Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? 

You want to scream.

They snap their fingers, "A-ha! You're that magician I got for the intermission, ain'tcha?"

You can't help but nod furiously, anything to avoid any possible ire.

Angel on high was this that boss the women kept mentioning? Weren't they on their way to see him? What was he doing here?

At least now you know why they seemed afraid of him.

"Silent type, huh? Much more chatty over the phone.." You feel them scoot closer. "And now that I think about it... That outfit. That's not what we agreed to, is it?" 

You pull the brim of your hat down, turning your head away to hide yourself. They did mention something like that, didn't they?

"It's... BETTER!" You almost yelp, but definitely jump. "Maybe those three should get a raise. Even if their attitudes could use some work.."

You nod along once more. That was close. Way too close.

"But hey! Heard your show knocked it out the park! Shame I missed it." They lean back and drape their arms around the couch. "It's hard to find good help these days, lemme tell ya!" You can imagine, simply based on their phone calls. "Say, what do you think about becoming a full-timer here? You know, kids love magic!" They laugh as they tap their freezing glass to your bare arm.

The shock of the iciness gets a squeak out of you and sends you flying over the arm of the couch and to the floor. You unfortunately don't land any more gracefully this time despite having had enough practice by now.

"Uh, you alright there?" 

You gasp as you lift your head. You see the two bobbles on top of his head before you see him- peeking over the arm of the couch at you.

"You..!" His confusion is wiped away by shock. His glass shatters, slipping right through his fingers.

As much as you tried to convince yourself you were dreaming all of this, the possibility- the entire ability- to do so shatters upon looking at him. At Tenna. Just as you knew him from your dreams but now in bright, beautiful color and as expressive as you always hoped.

"You..." You mutter back, and he seems to straighten immediately. The antennae on his head swing back and forth in anticipation.

A small click to your left alerts you, and you manage to catch a group of three consisting of a shadowed man, a green dice-headed thing, and a tall guy like the one from before attempting to sneak out of the balloon door. They're all dressed like they were just at a concert. You're only able to see the dice-headed one's eyes shift- between you and Tenna- but they all simultaneously retreat quietly back into the room.

"Um.." Your eyes shift back to Tenna, who didn't hear them at all. He's much too focused on you.

You should be used to having his attention on you by now.

You should be happy. You should be excited!

But your heart is too busy trying to pound its way out of your chest. This is what you had wanted for over a month- to meet him, to be near him. To know his voice. Yet now that he's stepping toward you like you're a feral animal in need, you're petrified. Not of him, but because the fact that this isn't- and was never- a dream, terrifies you.

Just what is this, then?

"You're..." You gasp and crawl backwards as he takes another cautions step closer. Angel, he towers you. He's easily at least eight feet tall. "You-" You choke up but he nods slowly, a small smile on his lips. "Your shoes untied!" You cry out, and he stops, and stares down at his golden oxfords.  

They're perfectly laced, but his distraction is enough to let you stumble to your feet and run out the one door you were told to avoid.

"Hey! Wait!" You barely hear him catch on to your ruse before engaging in an argument with those who have run out behind you.

You don't know why you're running, really, but you don't dare look back either way. You ignore the thumps and yells behind you and zig-zag through hallways and up staircases until your legs ache and your lungs feel dry. They beg you to stop but you don't listen. Not until you can't hear the echo of their footsteps or voices anymore. Then and only then do you allow your legs to finally give out beneath you for the second time today.

"Ack!" You cough, sort of. Your tongue feels dry, and your chest burns.

You can hardly catch your breath as you drag your tired body to the end of this final hallway to lean against two double doors. You're not sure how high you climbed, but there were no more additional halls for you to explore from here. 

In fact, this hallway was strangely quiet compared to the others.

Almost every door you passed along the way had some sort of noise going on behind it. From punches being thrown, conversions being had, to the sounds of galloping feet and an audience's uproar of laughter. The more you heard, the more you realized that behind every door must be a performance, a show, not too dissimilar to the one you had put on before. Not too dissimilar to different TV channels.

This was a studio, you realize. Tenna's studio. Tenna's studio in his world, that you somehow, fell into, and came upon by case of mistaken identity. But how. The possibility of breaking that barrier between you had just become wishful thinking- something you'd never achieve. You had become content with just being able to have your silly conversations with him as your television.

Was it because you refused?

Truthfully, you refused to leave it at that, to completely give up on the sliver of hope you had. And when presented with the opportunity to be with him- the real him- only to feel the threat of being kicked out once more, you refused to leave.

A hybrid between a gasp and a laugh escapes you, and you immediately cover your mouth as it echoes down the empty hall. Everything you've felt so far should be confirmation enough. 

You had done it. You'd broken the barrier, and met Tenna.

....Only to end up running away.

"...Shit!" You whisper and thump your fists against your thighs in frustration.

You finally, finally, met Tenna himself and ran away? Are you mad? Stupid?  You couldn't believe it either. The look on his face before you'd tricked him flashes through your mind and leaves you feeling like the biggest asshole as you groan into your hands. But even now you're not sure if you can truly face him. It felt just like that first day you'd confronted him. You were deathly nervous to be around him again. After all, he's so real, and huge, and kind of hot? How could you not be nervous as all hell.

You curl up against your knees once more and sigh. You're slowly calming down but the ache of your body remains. How are you supposed to get back now? Not like you remember every turn you made or even how many floors you climbed.

Just as before, and because of your own fault this time, you're once again lost. 

A ding rings behind you but you're too busy beating yourself up to even notice.

Much less the approach of the person behind you.

"Caught'cha!" His voice sweeps past your ear.

You scream and scramble to run, but he's already caught you by the collar to halt your attempt instantly. 

You slowly turn to face him, to see his twitchy smile. He looks pissed, frankly, and you can't offer him any more than a weak shrug.

So there was an elevator this whole time? That would have spared you the trouble..

He doesn't let you argue or fight or really do anything, before he lifts you to your feet and nudges you into the elevator with a poke at your back. He silently hits a button, followed by another four, and stands by the doors with his arms crossed behind his back as they close. The elevator begins to move before long, only instead of down like you'd assumed, you go up. And up, and up.

The ride is quiet. He doesn't move or say a word, and you can't look anywhere but at your feet. The only thing thicker than the silence might be the tension between you. As much as you'd like to speak and explain yourself, you can't find the words.

You're suddenly shaken out of your thoughts when the elevator hums to a stop.

The doors open to a lavish looking home that steals your voice anew.

For the first time since you entered, Tenna faces you and gestures you inside. You can't read him, but he at least doesn't look upset anymore. So you comply and go forth, where he follows soon behind with the doors closing at his exit.

Just the living room you stand in puts your humble home to shame. The walls a velvety carmine decorated with all sorts of posters and trophies. The floors a marbled black and gold with plush accent rugs. The living room immediately connects to the kitchen where one of the walls is almost exclusively glass, revealing the world below. You can faintly see lights dancing at the corners, and you immediately recognize this to be the top of the tower you couldn't see before.

So he lives at the top of the studio.

He gestures you to the couch and steps away to the kitchen. You nod quietly and obey once more.

It's familiar. A sofa too big for one person, a coffee table for coziness, but where you would have Tenna, he had a flat-screen upon the wall. You find that a bit amusing.

"You're finally smiling." His voice surprises your attention back onto him. It's soft, calm, lacking any sort of false flair from before.

He bends down to hand you a glass of water made to your size. You accept it graciously.

While you sit on the couch he takes a familiar stance and sits on the coffee table in front of you. You look up at him as you take a much needed drink and his antennae droop. He looks nervous now- rubbing the back of his head awkwardly and fiddling with his fingers in his lap. 

"I'm.." You continue to stare like a curious child and he looks unsure of what to say all of a sudden, "I'm not used to being watched by you like this..."

You choke on your water, sputtering a bit of it onto your lap.

"D-did I say something weird?" He switched up from the predator who'd caught you just moments ago to a helpless puppy so fast it caught you off guard.

"No...um..." You wipe your mouth and clear your throat.

This wasn't getting any easier. But you've done this before. You can do it again.

You hand him your water and he worriedly takes it and places it on the table. 

"Are you really Tenna?" You tear off the band-aid.

His antennae perk up and swing back and forth as he nods.

"Really?" He nods again. "Really, truly?" You take his hand in both of yours.

He gasps softly, his long fingers curling around yours. "Yes.."

He feels warm, so warm, even over his glove. You didn't really need any more confirmation, but so long ago you didn't think this possible.

His hand in yours becomes blurry as you give it a squeeze, a single tear plopping down against it.

It startles him immediately, "Oh no.. D-don't cry! I never know what to do when you cry!" 

You can't help but laugh at his panic.

"You still don't know the difference between happy and sad tears either." You pull his hand to your face and lean your cheek to it. "It's really you."

A soft pink illuminates his cheeks as he cups your other cheek with his free hand, and gives you a gentle smile and a nod.

Chapter Text

You spend the next who knows how long sobbing and holding onto Tenna's hand as you recount your day. Tenna in turn does his best to apologize and explain as much as he can to you without overwhelming you further. To sum it up, as you had imagined, your 'dream' turned out to be one, now, very busted barrier that connected your two worlds via your home. A window left open, that unfortunately neither of you could have guessed would lead to this.

The ridiculousness of it all had you sobbing all over again. It sent Tenna right back into panic mode, but he still did his best to keep you supplied with tissues.

You inhale for what feel like the first time in hours, "Ugh. I'm sorry I'm a mess... and that I ran. I wasn't thinking straight and-"

He shakes his head and gently dabs under your eyes for you, "No, I'm sorry, especially for grabbing you like that. I understand this must be... a lot to take in."

You nod, "Well, it's definitely not what I'm used to."

He chuckles awkwardly, yet it's like music to your ears. Instantly calming. "C...can I get you anything? Another water? Some food? You must be starving."

You sniffle and shake your head. Your glass was still quite full, and you lacked an appetite after all that excitement. "Let's just talk, for now." He's reluctant, but accepts that, "It's nice to hear your voice, you know. Your real voice."

He's taken back by that, his cheeks dusted a light pink. It was still new to you, wasn't it? "Well, ahem, it is my best quality, after all." He jokes in a clear attempt to cheer you up.

"Are you sure it's not your face?" You laugh as his cheeks darken. "Sorry to be so forward. It's just... I bet your smile lights up any room you're in." The real deal felt so much more infectious than the pixelated version you were used to. Awkward or not.

He shifts in his seat, folding one leg over the other and straightening his back. "Oh, stop it." But his smile's only gotten bigger and better.

You snicker at the fact he's clearly eating up the compliments, and he softens at the sound of your laugh.

While his smile remains, his antennae scrunch apprehensively. "Are you... feeling better?" 

You assure him with a nod. "I'm good. Great, even!" He touches your shoulder gently, worried you might be pushing yourself. "No, really! I can't cry forever, not when I'm really right in front of you. I mean, how often does that happen, huh?" You hiccup involuntarily, your cheeks feeling hot as he turns away to stifle a laugh. "Okay, well, I'm getting there at least." You grumble.

He offers you your water once more, and you drink it silently. While he watches you. Rather closely. Your eyes dart away while you take another sip, but he keeps looking. For some reason, every time you lift your glass seems to be of interest to him. Though, even when it's empty, his gaze remains on you. 

"Is there something on my face?" Despite the refreshment, you can't help but feel hot as you lower your cup back into your lap.

He jumps, "Huh? Oh, no! Forgive me. Force of habit.."

That didn't exactly help, but you definitely understand how he felt now. It felt much more personal to sit face-to-face with one another like this, than to be a literal word apart talking at projections of each other. Where once you could act natural, now you weren't really sure what to do under his gaze. It reminded you of just how nervous you should be. Something you'd forgotten amidst your excitement. 

You scoot over slightly and pat the seat beside you. "Why don't you, um, sit with me? It's more comfortable here." It was also a good excuse to break the awkward face-to-face. "I'm a bit jealous, you know. I wish my couch was this comfy."

He transitions from the table to the cushion just besides yours, but you notice he almost purposefully sits close enough that your shoulders touch. "Really? You sleep on it so often I figured it must be very comfortable." 

That's embarrassing..

"Well, I mean.." You laugh weakly. Your couch was comfortable, sure, but his was on a luxurious level. Besides, that was usually just because you were a bit too lazy to get to your bed. "Um.. you ever sleep on yours?" You decide to change the subject slightly. "Actually, do you sleep at all?"

He chuckles, "Of course I do." You nod along. "Not often out here, but yes. Otherwise I'd get burn-in. ...Which I definitely don't have." Whatever that means.

You look up at him, and then at the length of the couch. 

"It's a bit too short though, isn't it? Big guy like you must need to stretch a lot." You elbow his side gently and his antennae twitches. Interesting. "That brings me back to another thing I was wondering, Tenna." He tilts his head curiously. "The weather any different up there? More humid maybe?" You see that twitch again, only now in his antenna and his smirk. 

You sneer in response. That'll teach him to tease you.

"Funny one, aren't you?" 

You lean into his arm, "But you knew that already."

He softens almost immediately at your touch. What little annoyance you'd been building up seemingly vanished in an instant.

"Sorry, I'm just teasing. There's so much I actually want to know, but.." Perhaps too much. Even now that you could get everything off your chest, did you even have the time? Just as you were suddenly dropped into this world, would you just as spontaneously be taken out of it?

You look up at him, and he looks down at you expectantly. But your smile suddenly feels heavy. You're reminded of before- just as you'd begun to enjoy your conversations he'd have to rush off back to work. You hadn't even stopped to think that you were once again taking up his time. From the sounds of it, he was working just before you'd arrived and thrown everything into chaos. The guilt and frustration of it made your throat feel tight. 

"I have just as much to discuss with, and show you." Tenna's voice suddenly takes you by surprise. Even more so when he stands and holds his hand out to you with a grin.

Your gaze shifts between it and him, "But.." 

"We have time." He assures you. "Can you stand?"

Had he read your mind? He couldn't do that, right?

It'd be rude to leave him hanging, so you give him a small nod and take his hand. He helps you to your feet, and with your hand once again in his, leads you toward the glass wall on the other side of his home just between his kitchen and dining room. He's careful not to take you too close, however, just close enough that you can get your own picturesque view of the world below.

The mass of people you'd once been in the middle of looked so small from up here. Like streams of colors trailing down the brightly lit streets. 

"What do you think? Not as scary from up here, right?" 

His voice was the gentlest you'd ever heard it. Full of pride.

You shake your head.

Other skyscrapers decorated the world from above, but nothing came close to the height of the studio. You could see the waves of buildings clearly from here; read their signs, see their rooftops. Their lit windows speckled the pitch black skies like pseudo stars. The world wasn't just some large city, either. Past the skyline you could barely make out the outline of a large bridge atop an equally vast lake, leaving you to wonder just what lied beyond. Whatever it may be, the view from here made it evident the world was much larger than you had originally thought.

"It's.. beautiful." You answer breathlessly- truthfully.

"Isn't it?" 

You nod, "Beyond my imagination."

He chuckles softly at that, "So, you imagined it before?"

You scoff up at him, "Of course I did! I... I always thought this would be impossible, but I still hoped I'd be able to see this someday. To see you.."

"You wanted to see me?" You're sure he'd be batting his eyelashes if he had any.

You scoff again, "Are. You. Kidding?!" You almost break from the school-girl like laugh he gives you. Seems he just wanted to hear you say it. "Did I not make it obvious how happy I am to finally, actually, meet you? I... I could just hug you!"

You gasp and slap a hand over your lips, shocking even yourself with that. It'd thoughtlessly slipped out, and you hadn't expected anything from it, but to your surprise, Tenna leaves your hand to open his arms to you. 

Your stomach flips, "I... really?" 

He nods, his smile gentle and his cheeks pink. "You don't have to ask." 

You bite down against your bottom lip that threatened to tremble once more, and step closer to cut the distance between you, but as you're about to wrap your arms around his waist, he stops you.

"Oh, come on. You can do better than that!" 

Next thing you know he's sweeping an arm under your legs and scooping you off your feet. You yelp in surprise, your arms instantly around his neck for support. He's quick to apologize, but only half-heatedly. Unfortunately, his smile is so dazzling you can't even find it in you to be upset with him. It really is infectious.

"I... I suppose this is better." You offer him a smile of your own, and carefully lean into his embrace.

His chest is warm against yours, firm and broad. You hadn't noticed it before, but he smells delightfully woodsy- with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. It was curious, but at the same time, so comforting.

"Hmm." He presses a hand to your back and nudges the side of his head against yours, "Just remember not to look down."

Obviously, you do, only to instantly regret it. Your grip on him immediately tightens and your head finds refuge against his neck as your head begins to spin, and you're almost sure you hear him sigh. "You're an ass, Tenna.."

He's quick to squeeze you back, "Oh, but you knew that already."

A gentle silence fills the room, and once you're composed enough to stand on your own two feet, Tenna sets you down apologetically. You can't exactly be too upset, anyway. It'd been a while since you'd hugged anyone who wasn't your current and ex neighbors and it felt nicer than you'd care to admit. Considering how he kept nuzzling into you, you had to wonder if he might be in the same boat or if he really just enjoyed hugs. Hell, you're almost sure you even heard him purr at one point, yet he's acting as if nothing happened now. Not that you can bring yourself to ask about it, anyway.

Tenna's first to break the silence, "I'd like to give you a tour, if you'd let me. Of anything and everything." His hand gently smooths down your tousled hair. "Just tell me where, and I'll take you."

Your face feels uncomfortably warm, and you're thankful he hasn't turned on a single light. Not that you really needed one with all the light from the outside. The darkness in his home was meant to help calm you, and in this moment it brought you refuge instead. You just hoped he didn't have some kind of night-vision. 

You had to get your act together, and quick. One hug shouldn't be riling you up like this.

"Well... We're already here, so how about a tour of your home? You have a lot of interesting things around here. I wanna hear all about it." 

Genius, you feel. 

Keeping him talking would surely distract you.

And Tenna, ever the wonderful host that he is, takes it upon himself to give you exactly what you've asked for. You're already standing in the kitchen, so he shows you around there first. He starts off by making it very clear to you that his home is your home, and while he may not be able to drink your coffee, you are free to drink his.

It's roomy and sleek, monochrome, and once again a bit more modern than you would have imagined for him. Even your kitchen was more traditional.

The layout of his home told of wealth you didn't know of. Granite countertops, a roomy island, even a corner with a wine cabinet. You hadn't even taken him for a drinker, but you were happy to learn. Strangely, his counters were all surprisingly shorter than you would have thought; low enough that you could use them. But everything was so remarkably clean, glossy even, that you were a bit afraid to touch any of it.

As he shows you where he keeps what, you notice he's also very organized. Every bit of tableware has its place, and every appliance has a purpose. You keep that in mind. Although as far as appliances go, he doesn't have much aside from a coffee maker and a microwave. No blender, and unfortunately no toaster. 

"Do you cook often, Tenna?"

He sheepishly rubs the back of his head and nods. "I've gotten into it more, recently."

You smile, "Hey, me too!"

He nearly skips past the dining room. It's a thick wood table with two chairs and a pretty little chandelier sitting above it. Surely, nothing to sneeze at.

The fact he had two chairs instead of just one caught your eye, however. Earlier you'd even caught sight of a mug that was clearly much too small for Tenna himself.

Which compelled you to ask, "Tenna, are you seeing anyone?"

He tilts his head curiously, but as you explain yourself, his antennae perk straight up.

"Oh! Well... I was, I suppose you could say. We, ahem, broke up some time ago."

You cast down your gaze, "Oh, I'm.. so sorry.."

It seems the wound is still fresh in his heart. He can't even meet your gaze, and he almost sounds like he's sobbing.

"That's al-heh-right.. Shall we- Shall we move on?" When he finally does face you, he's all smiles again.

You nod quickly, once again apologizing guiltily, which he assures you there's no need for. 

The two of you move on quickly to your starting point. Despite the air of luxury wafting around here too, the living room had a more comfortable feel to it that you were used to, but perhaps that was because it reminded you of home. He re-introduces you to his comfortable couch, to the coffee table, even to the pile of tissues you had left behind.

"Sorry.."

He assures you he'll clean it in due time. 

He's reluctant to bring up the television, but it took up way too much attention in this space, you notice. Overall, he doesn't particularly seem fond of it.

"It was a gift.." He spits the last word out like it personally wronged him. Who it may be from might have a lot to do with that.

You shrug and purse your lips, "It lacks character, don't you think? I can't even put anything on it."

He beams at that, "That's what I'm saying! Bo-ring!"

Just behind the television lies what really matters, anyway. Some of his proudest achievements- golden trophies with dedicated shelving and posters both framed and loose along the carmine wall. Each has a story, and you find yourself enthralled by just how enthusiastically he lit up as he recounted each one. 

"Wow." You stare, perhaps a bit too much, at the poster portraying Tenna as a cowboy. He's flashing his signature grin, one hand on his hip and a gun in the other pointed into the air. The background a sweltering desert with a saloon just off to the side.

He looked damn good in chaps.

"Like that one, do you?" He sneers at you with a wiggle of his brow.

You feel your cheeks heating up once again and gently elbow him, to which he chuckles.

"Nah. I think your current look might be my favorite. Besides, we kinda match like this, don't we?" You look over your shoulder at your coat tails, then to him. 

He nods in agreement, "This, too." He bends down slightly to straighten your bow-tie for you, an act that doesn't help you calm down in the slightest. 

"Oh! Haha!" You clear your throat shamefully. "I forgot I had that on. I think they were your secretaries? They gave me this earlier. But you're right!" Not so much in style, but the color of your tie matched his.

The corner of his smile twitches slightly as he straightens up, "Did they, now? Did they happen to give you anything... else?"

You nod, "Oh right," and tap your head, only to feel it bare. "Huh?" Your hat was long gone, dropped and forgotten. Where, you couldn't even be sure. You're not even sure what floor he'd picked you up on to start your search from.

He shrugs, "Oh well! Must have gotten trampled and tossed in the chaos, hm?" Why did you get the feeling he specifically was at fault. "We can always get you another, one without any dirty tricks in it for starters.." You're not sure you heard him right, but he's quick to move on. "I meant what I said before. You look good. With or without a hat."

You're quick to ignore whatever he mumbles if he's going to flatter you like that. "Well, I suppose I don't need a hat..."

He beams, "Of course not!" and takes your hand once more to lead you down the hall.

"By the way, are you the reason I'm dressed like this in the first place?"

To which he shakes his head, "I have no control over that."

You tilt your head curiously but shrug.

Down the hall, he introduces you to his fancy bathroom in his already fancy-pants house. He doesn't find you calling it that very amusing, but you can't help the facts. It's lavish, once again. Before today, you didn't know the cabinet could be so long it needed two sinks. The shower and bathtub didn't even share the same space. Who knew that was possible? Not to mention both were ridiculously roomy. The whole thing was as monochrome as his kitchen, the only splash of color being a red flower potted between the twin sinks and the floor being white instead of black.

It truly spoke wealth to you, and you weren't fluent.

You lean against the doorway. "Geez, I bet I could swim in that.." You supposed he needed the room. Which posed another question for you. "Would you say you're more of a shower person? Or a bath person?" Very subtle, you feel.

He crosses his arms, "I suppose it depends on the time. I might have a shower before work, but a bath to unwind afterward."

You're wholly interested in the fact he can submerge himself in water at all. Despite looking quite robotic.

He looks offended at that, however. "What do you take me for? I wouldn't be caught dead with a smudge on me on live TV."

You slowly eye him up at down, "Not that I'm questioning your hygiene, 'cause you smell great, but.." That lights him right up. "So it's... not the equivalent of bathing with a plugged in hair dryer?"

His expression falls flat almost immediately, "No, it's not."

You cup your chin and nod, "I see.." 

The following silence and your gaze combined seem to make him nervous once again, his cheeks slowly dusting pink.

He straightens his tie and flips around, "Ahem. Shall we move on?"

He steals the hand against your chin into his and pulls you onward, snapping you from a reverie you hadn't realized you were in the midst of. Perhaps a smart move on his part.

You arrive not far from the lavish bathroom at a fork in the hall where two doors sit across from one another. Considering it's his home, it makes sense that both doors almost reach the ceiling. Only for some reason, one of them has a handle much lower than the other. A handle more at your height.

You're not entirely too dense to not understand the meaning behind that. "Is... this what I think it is?" But it doesn't hurt to ask. 

You turn to Tenna for an answer, who only silently urges you to open this door yourself. So you do. You're instantly met with a cool breeze.

Inside is a neat little bedroom with a single, opened, window. A thick bed with a fluffy comforter rests in the center, a bedside table and lamp at its side. A closet door more your size rests against the corner of the wall by the bed, and a fluffy square rug half hidden by your bed ties it all together. It had a vague resemblance to your room back home, just a bit emptier. You step inside to get a better look of it, to feel the bed most importantly. It's like a cloud..

"Apologies it's a bit empty. I thought you might like to fill it in yourself." Tenna stands in the doorway with a gentle smile. "As I said before, I want you to consider this a second home, away from home. Some place you might want to come back to?" He slips up, just slightly, but enough that you can pick up on some apprehension behind his words.

The implication of his words wasn't lost on you. "I... can come back?" His antennae perk up in surprise, "When I go home.. I'll be able to come back?"

You'd expected this to be a one-time deal. You'd make the best of your time here and probably never see him again. But now that you know that's not going to be the case, you can't hide the stars in your eyes. His antennae curl inward as he smiles. Would it be far-fetched to think he may have worried over the same?

"Of course.." the words slip past his lips as no more than a sigh.

You skip to him and take hold of his hands. "Then expect me to be back whenever I can be!"

There's a slightly rosy tint to his cheeks once again and it seems as if all of his apprehension has gone out the window.

"I take it you like the room then? I know it's not very 'lavish'..." He quotes you with your hands still in his. 

You chuckle, "It's perfectly fine. I'll add some personal touch with time!"

Now that you knew there was no need to rush, after all. Though you're once again reminded that you don't currently hold any of this world's currency, so that may become a bit of a challenge. You're not about to ask Tenna for money either, though you strangely feel as if he'd throw it at you if you did. You internally shrug. Surely, you'll figure it out.

"By the way," you step just past him, toward the door across yours, and point specifically at the taller handle. "What's this room?"

His hand flies to his tie and fiddles with it nervously, "Oh, well, that would be my bedroom."

You could probably reach it if you jumped, and just push it open. But you don't. Despite how curious you are, you decide not to pry. You know he'd show you the room if you asked, but you'd rather he want to show you himself.

You beam at him regardless, still happy at the fact he'll be nearby, "So we're neighbors then! I'll try not to keep you up at night." You joke.

He shakes his head and waves away your worry, "Oh, don't worry! You're a very quiet snorer! Even those times when you kinda drool." He taps the corner of his mouth unnecessarily.

"I...I don't drool!" It was one time, you're sure of it. Just one time! Angel, you can't believe he even saw that.

It seems he realizes just what he'd given away, his antennae scrunching and straightening in panic, "Did I say drool?! I meant... cool! You sleep so.. cool-ly!" But you've already got your face buried in your hands. The damage has been done. "Why don't we move on, hm? There's so much to see still!" 

Anything to distract yourself from this mess.

"Anywhere but here." You sob between your fingers.

He's at least eager to please, as he scoots you toward the elevator with his hand at your back. "Then how about the outside!" You'd almost forgotten about the rest of the world.

With the push of a button, the elevator doors ding open. You glance up at Tenna, who's once again cool and collected. It was a bit frustrating just how easily he did that, but you do notice there's a hint of excitement to this grin. 

"Outside? Not the studio?" You figured you'd be doing things in order at least.

He throws his head back and laughs as he leads you inside. Like you'd said something preposterous.

"We have time, but not that much time. We'll be there all day if we go through there first!" You supposed he had a point. If that's what he recommended, you weren't about to object. "Besides, wouldn't you like to get to know the world you helped rebuild?"

That catches you off guard, however. "I.. what?" 

He taps the keypad quickly and folds his arms behind his back. For this ride, he turns toward you.

"As I said, there's much to discuss!"

Chapter Text

"So..." You cross your arms and cup your chin, "Everyone here is a 'Lightner', and I'm something called a 'Darkner'?" 

Tenna shakes his head with a small smile, "No, no. Other way around." He taps his chest, "Darkner." then points to you. "Lightner."

You scratch the side of your head in confusion, "I'm usually just called 'a human', but-" You catch his blank stare, "Okay, okay. So- The people here are 'Darkners' and me, Kris and Toriel are all 'Lightners'?" He nods. "Hm, okay. I get it. Kinda.." It was still a bit strange to find yourself sharing a category with monsterkind, but you've already spent the last forty floors trying to wrap your head around it. It really wasn't the type of lesson you were used to. At least Tenna living on the ninety-ninth gave you the time to keep trying.

He explains that Darkners were originally inanimate objects otherwise brought to life by magic. Both born from the Dreemurr home and yours, they come together in this one world thanks to that magic, which in itself came from him. He, in turn, gained it from being serviceable to his Lightner- who for the past month was you. It's like something straight out of a fairy tale, and you wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't Tenna himself telling you this.

Your head was already starting to spin and you're not sure if it's the influx of information, or the lengthy elevator ride.

Above all, you're left in shock at the fact that this isn't just Tenna's home as you'd originally thought. It's his world, his domain to keep. Apparently being a celebrity was just a bonus. The knowledge placed you somewhere between awestruck and awkward, but he already made himself clear; most of his people treated him normally, and while some may treat him differently, he didn't want that from you. Not while you were out in the open, and especially not when it's just the two of you. Not that you had any idea how to behave around royalty- something he insisted you not call him either. Despite that, all of a sudden you felt out of place beside him.

"Is it really okay to keep treating you so casually, Your Holiness?" 

His antennae perk up slightly, "Don't call me that either... But, speaking of casual-" He suddenly snaps his fingers, and his jacket and tie disappear, leaving him in just the button-up he had beneath. "We can leave that for the stage." He chuckles. You try not to stare. "But to answer your question, yes. If anyone's allowed to treat me 'casually' it's you." 

You raise an eyebrow, "Me? Why would-"

He cuts you off with a soft chuckle "Come on, I explained it to you. You're my Lightner, aren't you?" It was less of a question, and more matter of fact. "To me, our statuses are reversed. This is all thanks to you. I truly can't wait to show it to you." 

The softness of his words make your breath hitch, and suddenly things begin to click into place. Why he had thanked you weeks ago, what it meant to help 'rebuild' his world. It sat strangely heavy on your shoulders, yet light in your chest. All you did was take him in. He's the one who comforted you, who kept you company. Perhaps, if anything, you were at least equals. Your own world had changed as a result of him coming into your life, hadn't it?

"Tenna I-" You stop dead in your tracks.

Tenna hums softly to himself as he begins to roll his sleeves up to his forearms. He's turned slightly, revealing a neatly tied up cord at the back of his waist, seemingly clipped against his belt buckle. Is that- As he turns back around, you're instantly flash banged by his flexed arm. As if for the first time, you notice they're are quite defined even beneath his shirt. His 'skin' is the same soft silver as his head with a few segment lines going places you can't see. You're so entranced you don't even notice him watching you as you trace the lines up to the biceps you unfortunately can't see.

My goodness..

Had those always been there? Did he.. did he have a license for those?

"Curious about something else, are you?" 

You gasp and meet his gaze, almost forgetting the rest of him was there.

He smirks.

"What? No! What?!" You take one last look then regrettably tear your eyes away.

"You're drooling." He taps the corner of his mouth, and you stupidly fall for it.

"Ugh!" You stomp your foot in annoyance and turn away.

"That's alright!" He hides half way behind his hand and leans slightly toward you to whisper, "Better than some poster though, right?"

"Stop it!" You cry out, hiding away into your hands in shame, something he finds very amusing. 

You mentally take back your words of gratitude, for now anyway.

A final well-timed ding rings around his laughter, and you peek through your hands to see the elevator doors finally slide open to reveal a spacious, well-lit lobby. A large circular desk sits at its center, flanked on either side by tall double doors you can't see beyond. Just behind the desk, a pair of glass doors frame the never-ending night beyond. Aside from two, whom you've come to know as, Zappers stationed outside the entrance and two stationed behind the desk, the floor is otherwise empty. A result of the studio being down for the day, you assume.

Tenna offers you his hand, with a grin no less smug than before. It almost makes you refuse, but you take it in the end. Just a bit more red-faced than you would have liked to be.

He softens as a result, and leads you to the front desk, where the Zappers give him a salute upon seeing him. "I'll be stepping out for a while. If anyone needs me, page it to Mike." You'd heard the name before, but not much else. Whoever he is, he sounds important at least.

"Got it, Boss!" They say in unison.

Then one of them tilts their head at you. His cheeks, you think, glow a light pink. "It's yous again! So glad I gotcha to yer show on time!"

You're reminded that it was one of his Zappers who’d brought you here in the first place. Not that you would have known which if he hadn't spoken up about it. Seems he'd tuned into the show you'd been forced to put on as a result. At least that had led you to Tenna, and you couldn't be too upset about that. From what he explained to you, half his personnel were looking for the missing magician while the rest and his inner circle looked for you. Lucky coincidence, really, that one Zapper ended up finding both.

Sort of.

The Zapper directs your attention to a monitor currently advertising TV Time brand water. "Wish I coulda been there! Say, you got any advice for someone lookin' tuh learn?"

"I...um?" Unfortunately, you had a fan and no advice to offer him. As far as you're aware, everything you'd done was a result of the hat you'd been given before taking the stage. It was much more real, and you lacked any explanation for it. Not to mention that poor thing had unfortunately left this world already. The best you can give him is a sheepish shrug.

And he chuckles."Oh, I get it. Magician's code n all dat, eh?" 

The other Zapper beside him nudges him with his elbow. "Nah, that ain't them, you blockhead." 

And your fan wiggles his head mockingly in response, "Ye it is, I brought em here myself! They're even wearin' da same thing!"

Both of them turn toward you, but the skeptic Zapper shakes his head.

"Nah, don't see it."

That immediately feels strange to you.

Tenna's free hand finds purchase on your shoulder as he leans slightly over the desk at your new fan, "Ah! So you're the Zapper who so kindly found them for me, hm?" He interjects with a smirk.

The Zapper quickly switches back into business mode and salutes Tenna once again, "Yes, Boss! I spotted 'em on da cameras lookin' lost down da 1-800!"

You weren't that far from the building when you'd been picked up, but it was still a bit shocking at just how far their surveillance went.

Tenna turns to you, and you shrug sheepishly once again, lacking any exuse. He removes his hand from your shoulder to hand the Zapper what appears to be a folded note between his fingers. 

"Keep up the good work." He says simply before gently tugging you forward.

"Yes, Boss! Thank you, Boss!" 

You glance back at the duo who seem shocked to see what's on the note.

"What'd you give him?" You ask, suspicious.

He beams down at you. "Just a little tip for finding you." 

You scoff at that, "You tipped that guy for snatching me off the street? You know, where I'm from, that's called kidnapping."

Tenna stops you just in front of the doors and wags his finger at you, "Well, you'd probably still be wandering that street if it hadn't been for him, so I'm willing to overlook the technicalities."

Unfortunately he had a point there. You hadn't exactly made your mind to come toward the building at the time.

"Fine, but.." He stares at you curiously. "What were they... talking about back there?" His smile drops almost instantly. "If they both watched the performance, how come only the one who brought me recognized me?"

You watch as his expression slips into mild annoyance only to quickly shift into a smile once again. "That's something we can talk about when we come back home." You feel as if he's been avoiding it for some time now, but relent. "Great! Because first-"

The glass doors hiss open as Tenna leads the way and tugs you behind him. A red rug with gold trim decorated the entrance here, while a matching awning decorates the top of the door. 

Each Zapper posted by the doors give Tenna an additional salute as the two of you stroll past. One asks if they should bring 'the car' around but Tenna refuses. You weren't aware he had one, but you suppose in a city this big it isn't out of the ordinary. Though you're briefly reminded of Kris' words.

He prefers to walk. 

Tenna clears his throat, then steps out from under the awning, guiding you into the electric glow of the city lights. "Y/N," he begins, his voice like a fanfare, "allow me to officially welcome you to TV World!" He extends his free arm with theatrical flourish. For some reason, his presentation seems to make the skyline glitter more than before. "Great name, don’t you think?" He leans toward you with a sly tilt of his head.

You can't help but chuckle. "It’s very on-brand."

"I knew you'd get it!" His grin flashes so wide, you can just barely see a canine peeking- but before you can ask about it, he’s already tugging you forward by the hand.

He pulls you along excitedly pointing out the many locales around you. Around here everything is paired to TV Land, the home of TV Time.

It was starting to get a bit confusing again.

Here, all things production were ran. From tailors to props to makeup made just for the studio. A building for every department. He explains that most details, using his coat as an example, would get made out here and be delivered to the studio. The short distance kept everything convenient while the separation left more room for the shows themselves. That might explain why the backstage dressing room you'd been in seemed rather small.

He adds that everything is planned out for each show and ordered accordingly, though in the event of wardrobe malfunctions, or missing actors, the team may go off script. He uses you and your outfit as an example of this.

You stop at one of the many closed down salons and catch you reflection in the darkened window. "Now I'm a bit curious about what your original magician was going to wear."

"A suit with a cape." The classic, you feel. "Seeing your outfit now, I realize I should have thought broader." He chuckles.

You catch his reflection in the glass- staring not at yours, not at your outfit, but at you. Without thinking, you adjust your hand in his, your palm settling comfortably against his. And his grip on you tightens subtly.

"Glad to be an inspiration, even if accidentally." It's strangely difficult to meet his real gaze, but you see him beam regardless.

Soon, he's back to tugging you along, his gaze finally averted and your breath finally returned.

"So..." A new question comes to mind, "Did they ever find the real guy?" 

He shrugs, "I'm just glad I hadn't paid him yet."

As Tenna leads you out of the TV Land district, to all things advertisements, the crowd thickens fast. Darkners of all kinds bustle around you, color and noise bombarding you from every direction. You do your best to keep up, but find yourself falling just a bit short. Tenna stops the second your hand begins to slip from his and turns toward you. The traffic doesn't seem to matter to him, and the stares the two of you get come second as he kneels down to you.

"Are you alright?" You notice him reel in his excitement at the tension knit in your brows. "I'm sorry.. The 1-800 tends to be like this at all hours. I was moving too quickly, wasn't I?"

Not wanting to worry him, you nod automatically, “I was just walking a bit too slow, I'm okay!" But you're not the best at hiding your discomfort.

His own brow creases, his mouth a hard line as he stands and looks over at the crowd, then to you.

"Hang on,” he says.

Before you can ask what for, he dips back down and lifts you much like before, only this time he raises you higher and settles you on his shoulders.

“Tenna!?” you yelp, your hands immediately flying around his head for balance. “What are you doing?!” While he still seems ignorant to the attention he brings, you begin to wish you were too.

“Don’t panic, just stay still.” It's easier said than done- but his voice is calm, careful. That alone helps just a bit. “I think this might be better for you. Safer.”

Your heart stammers as you instinctively grab hold of an antenna for leverage. It's fuzzy against your skin and twitches slightly into you. “But I-!” The lights begin to blur, your head falls forward against the top of his. You can't argue when your breakfast is threatening to come back and say hello.

“I know,” he says softly. “But I can't have you miss this.”

You want to argue- your stomach still churning- but his voice encourages you just enough to roll your head to the side and take the smallest peek.

From up here, the chaos of the crowd falls away. The billboards and neon signs shimmer in the sky and reflect in puddles below blending with the glow of the skyline and filling the streets with dazzling light. The once overbearing noise feels calm, barely reaching you in bits and pieces where you catch hints of the lives of those around you. Like proof of their existence. It's strange, electric, unreal. As if you were seeing the city through his gaze, this time.

You swallow hard, the upset in your stomach replaced by butterflies, "Wow...”

“I thought you’d like it,” his voice is soft, yet clearer than any other.

And for a moment, you don’t think about the height. You don’t think about potentially falling. You just think about the way his hands rest gently around your legs, holding you steady.

❥ ❥ ❥ ❥

"...Still with me?" Tenna gives your knee a gentle squeeze.

You nod against his head, watching the world bob by with each of his steps.

"How are you doing?" 

He's checked on you at least every five seconds for the past ten minutes since he picked you up. If he was going to be this worried, he might as well have just left you on the ground. Still, with each step, you've gradually eased into the new height. You found yourself more comfortable with your chin against his head, and at some point even released his poor antenna from your grip to drape your arms around his neck instead. You weren't sure if it hurt him- it'd occasionally give you that same twitch- and he didn't protest, but it felt like the equivalent of pulling his hair. And that alone made you a bit guilty.

"Do you need a break?"  His fingers tap nervously at your leg, getting a chuckle out of you.

"I'm okay, Tenna. A bit.. dizzy still, but otherwise fine. You're fussing too much." You give the top of his head a small rub, and with your ear touched down to him, the purr he elicits is unmistakable.

He quickly overwrites it with a low hum, "Well, I can imagine why. I can hear your stomach rumbling, you know. Did you eat anything when you got home?"

You groan. He was fussing again, but also maybe on to something. You'd forgotten to, despite his constant reminders, and food hadn't exactly been on your mind since you arrived here either.

To your surprise, he doesn't say anything. However his head begins to swivel side to side, as if he's looking for something. Then his grip on your legs tightens as he makes his way toward a corner on the other side of the street, toward a vendor cart just beneath one of the many neon signs. Its display was full of foil wrapped snacks and colorful drinks. The smell alone tuned you into the same rumbling he must have been listening to this whole time. 

A Plugboy stood beside it in an apron smiles excitedly. "Mr. Tenna, what a pleasure! What ever brings you to my humble stand?" 

"My friend here," he points up at you with his thumb. The poor Plugboy has to squint as you offer him a wave from above. "is about to pass out from low blood sugar."

"It's not that serious," you interject. 

Tenna tuts, "They're absolutely starving. What do you recommend for them?"

The Plugboy seems a bit taken back by the two of you to the point of silence, especially under your expectant stares.

"How 'bout one of these, hm?" He darts to the back of his cart only to come back with a circular, foil-wrapped snack cradled in a few napkins. "Best seller. Guaranteed to hit the spot!" It looked comically big in his tiny hands.

Tenna takes it gratefully and hands the Plugboy a folded note, something he initially refuses, but Tenna insists upon. He doesn't even take the change the vendor tries to offer, instead thanks him briefly and carries onward while handing you the snack.

It sits hot in your hands, calling to you. And you're wont to leave it waiting. The outside is crispy, fried. The inside, you find, warm and full of gooey cheese. The one bite feels like enough to satiate you forever.

"Mm~" you hum, struggling against the cheese pull. It stretches comically long, forcing you to tug it back and nibble at it slowly until it finally gives.

Tenna's shoulders shake as he chuckles, "I take it he was right then?

"Mhm!" It's the best you can do with a mouth full of heaven. 

Then you get an idea; why enjoy it all alone? So you tap Tenna gently on the shoulder, who stops to look over at you.

And you lean down so he can see you better, snack forward in offering, "Want a bite?"

He looks at it, then at you and quickly shakes his head, "Oh, no, no. It's for you."

You pick up on the way his hands squeeze at your calves and insist, "Have you tried it before?"

"Well, no, but-" he stammers.

You smirk and tilt it toward his mouth, "Then try it."

You wiggle it in front of him and he takes a hesitant bite just next to yours. His antennae perk up at the flavor and he quickly finds himself in the same sticky pull, though he's quicker at tearing it.

"Tasty, right?" you chuckle. 

He nods, politely chewing quietly. You take another bite around his and hum to yourself. Somehow it's even better now.

You quickly catch Tenna staring a bit intently, however. You're not sure if it's at you or the snack, but there's just enough for another bite left. 

"Here." You lean it back down for him. "Last piece is yours." 

He snaps out of whatever stupor he'd been stuck in and shakes his head again, "It's for you. One bite is more than-"

"Oops!" You press it gently to his lips, "Guess you gotta eat it now."

His brow furrows as you snicker to yourself but he lets you slowly guide it in.

"I can't believe you never tried this yourself. Is Mr. Tenna too upper class for- Ah!" You gasp and pull back your hand, feeling a sudden fizz against your thumb. Like a tiny static shock, but strangely not unpleasant.

Tenna freezes.

It seems his tongue had just barely grazed your skin.

You stare down at him, stunned. "Did you just-" 

He quickly grabs the napkins and turns away to wipe his mouth. "Please ignore that." His voice is low and awkward, his mouth clearly still full.

But your mind decides to do the opposite, instead trailing off to thoughts it shouldn't. You quickly bonk your fist against your forehead to put an end to that, a sound that immediately concerns him but you insist is nothing.

Had the shock hit your brain?  

You clear your throat and lean lighter against his head. Suddenly you were more than happy to do as he suggested and move on. "So... where to next?" And he carries on. Yet you can't easily ignore the way your whole hand tingles.

You needed to get a grip and soon.

Like a welcome distraction, a group of ornamental eggs come rolling down the other side of the street in a straight line. It's your first time seeing Darkners like these, and they stick out like sore thumbs among the colorful city folk they weave through. Then one by one they hop up only to land on small legs that produce from each of their bottoms. The top halves of their shells lift slightly to reveal two small yellow orbs that bounce with each step.

You find yourself watching the curious little things when the one in front of the line suddenly stops and turns toward the two of you. The one behind it bumps into him and so on and so forth. They seem a bit distracted by the sudden sighting of Tenna.

"I... think you have some fans over there." You tap his shoulder gently and point his attention at the group of eggs who begin to bounce happily in place as he follows your lead.

He waves, the group erupting into chirps as they scramble forward once again in a more chipper mood than before. 

He chuckles. "Ah, yes. Bunch of sweethearts- still a bit new around here!" 

You notice one at the back of the line hasn't moved, or reacted much for that matter. In fact, they seem to be looking up at you. You lock eyes with it, and give it a small wave. It in turn chirps happily, and a small black feathered hand slips from its shell and waves back at you before it rejoins the line.

"Fan of yours?" Tenna's voice snaps you out of the confusion that'd left you in. "Or a familiar face, perhaps?"

You cup your chin in thought. His wording is too suspicious to not be a hint, you just need those gears to turn. 

If those Darkners are new, they must be from your home. But where do you keep your eggs besides the fridge? Rather, where did you.

You recall Kris forming a circle around Tenna the day you brought him home- with your decorative eggs. 

Tenna chuckles at your gasp.

"Then-" Your blood runs cold as you quickly realize who that little egg might have been. "Oh gosh.."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure they were happy to be part of the act!" 

You groan into your hands. Of course he knows. But the guilt remains. You silently promise to treat your belongings a bit more respecftully.

"Which, I should mention, was a truly stunning trick!" He continues. "No matter how many times I re-watched it, I still couldn't catch how you did it!"

You lower your hands and look down at him in confusion, "Re-watched?" 

He freezes in place, and laughs, "...What?"

"Wait," You're not blind to the way his antennae tremble, "Tenna, did you.. Can you record-"

"Y...yes!" he suddenly interjects. "To understand magic a little more of course! You're the reason I decided to hire one of our own, remember?!" He suddenly seems very interested in a gift shop down the road and bee-lines for it, making you hold on to his head for dear life. "Oh, why, look over here!" 

His shoulders rise and fall stiffly with clearly forced laughter as he moves. His reasoning sounds like a terrible lie with the way he's acting, but you can't exactly think of any other reason he might record you. You figure he must just be embarrassed because it seems weird. 

Regardless what his reason might be, you find that you don't really mind. In fact, you're a bit curious at what else he might have recorded.

Tenna offers you his hand, newly calm, "Shall we go in?"

You take it and hold on tight. His other hand comes under your left foot and in one swift, careful, move, he swings you around and down to the ground as if in a dance. You even get the urge to strike a small pose.

It felt like something practiced.

He chuckles, but the look on his face is something of mild mortification that he clearly can't hide too well. You grin, which seems to calm him slightly.

"That was kinda fun," You admit, and he's back to natural smiles just like that. You supposed you could let the matter go, for now.

With his hand still in yours, he pulls you inside. Here he introduces you to all sorts of his merchandise. Anything you can possibly think of from slippers to brooms- you name it. All TV Time branded. Even the water you'd seen earlier. However, the best object so far had to be the Tenna style head-bands made of springs and pom poms made to emulate his own antennae. That one in particular whispered to you.

"Five hundred big ones for that one, Friend!"

You turn to see a red Pippins behind a counter at the other end of the store. He flashes you a big grin, his hand in the air with his thumb and index pinched together in a circle.

Was that a normal for something like this? It's so small, but you can't even find a sticker on it proving otherwise. Regardless, you're quickly reminded you're broker than broke here anyway. "I..uh.." 

Suddenly you watch as his eyes shift upward and bulge slightly, "D...did I say five hundred? I meant fifty!" He wheezes. "No- free, even! We're having a special!"

"How generous." Tenna hums near your shoulder, smiling sweetly when you turn to him. Strands of your hair rise slowly toward his face, which he quickly smooths down. "Would you like that?"

You shake your head, "I couldn't.. I was kinda just looking, actually." and regretfully put them back.

"By all means, pick something!" You glance back at the Pippins to see his eyes full of panic and urgency that seems to scream, 'or leave!'.

It doesn't take much to understand. Poor guy must have tried to rip you off without knowing who was right beside you. You almost felt a twinge of pity.

Tenna hums and cups his would-be chin, "May as well, right? How about this, then?" He stands upright and plucks a plush off a higher shelf- one that fits perfectly in his large palm. A soft, chunky little clone of himself, dressed in his red coat and holding a tiny microphone in its right hand. Its stitched in grin was just as wide and contagious as the real thing.

"Awh, it's so-" You stop yourself. Would calling it cute be like calling him cute? Would that be weird? What if he takes it the wrong way? What if I want him to? Your own thoughts shock you once again, and in the end, you decide not to toe that line, even as a joke. "-smartly dressed!" You cough out instead.

The Pippins jumps cheerfully behind the counter, "All yours if you want it, Pal!" but the urgency in his voice betrays his smile.

You take the plush from Tenna and hold it in both hands. It’s impossibly soft, and the detail is surprising. The little ‘TV’ logo on its chest is even embroidered.

"We'll take it." Tenna answers for you, most likely based on you staring at it too long. "Oh, and-" He beams, and snatches the headband you'd been eyeing off the shelf, "We'll be taking this too. 'Preciate it, buddy! " And just like that he's already guiding you out with nothing more than a casual wave at the Pippins.

"Come again soon!" You barely hear the mutter of 'or don't' as you exit.

Outside Tenna slips the little headband onto your head, "Word of caution; be careful with any Pippins. Great workers, but awful little con-artists." He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll have to get a Zapper down here ASAP." 

You bob your head side to side, feeling the antennae bounce against you. "I kinda feel like we robbed him, though?" Yet you similarly wiggle your new plush's arms up and down rather remorselessly.

He shakes his head, "Him? Where do you think the money from this place even goes." Oh, right. "Something like this this won't hurt, anyway. Not if this is how he runs the store."

That was all you needed to completely absolve yourself of guilt. "I think I'll call the little guy 'Anthony'."

Tenna stares down at you with a half bent antenna, "A...after me?" 

You half laugh and shake your head, "I thought that wasn't your name." He grins sheepishly. You sigh dramatically. "My ex, actually. It was sort of recent, but I still- Wait." You freeze, your face contorting in confusion at the sudden deja vu.

You realize your opportunity to make this joke has been stolen from you before you even got the chance to make it.

You slowly look to Tenna for an explanation, but he's suddenly too busy looking at anything that isn't you.

Chapter Text

Despite looking to Tenna, chasing him for an answer, he refused to budge. One thing was clear, at least. He'd heard your phone call.

Now you ride along on Tenna's shoulders once again, your headband and plush snapped back to your room by him to keep your hands free enough to hold onto him. But one hand is enough. The other stays busy listlessly playing with one of his antenna as if it were a door stopper. It sprang in much the same way.

Tenna clears his throat, the vibration buzzing against your hand. "I'm... sorry." 

You give his antenna another jiggle, "For stealing my joke? Or.." 

But he stays quiet for a moment too long. Perhaps that wasn't what he had in mind, but you didn't really care that he was watching. In fact, you find yourself wishing you'd known. Just so you could turn to him and go, 'Can you believe that shit?!' and complain all about how weird that'd been. The thought brought a smile to your face.

As you give his antennae another push, it surprises you by pushing back against your finger in retaliation, "Yes. In my defense, it was really funny." 

It doesn't surprise you that he's collected himself and taken your out. It only disappoints you that he won't just talk to you. Why does he seem more bothered about watching you than you are? He was doing anything but just admitting to it. But why? Were you the strange one here?

Your smile turns sour- a half frown, half pout. "Yeah, yeah. Your name's not even Anthony so it makes no sense... It wasn't even really that funny. It would have been funny if I said it, though." 

To your surprise, his antenna bends backward to poke your forehead, "You're sulking, aren't you?" 

"What the.." You touch your fingertips to your skin, feeling the faintest tickle from his touch. You almost miss the fact he's clearly trying to distract you from what matters. "I'm not sulking." At least not about that.

As if to test you, he pokes you again, and again. "You are." 

You try and catch the round of his antenna, but it just barely evades you and wiggles tauntingly in response. Now you know how he figured you were, definitely not, sulking. Hopefully he sees you stick out your tongue at him too.

"As your Lightner, am I allowed to change your name or something? I'm thinking 'Ass' Tenna." 

He chuckles, shaking you in the process, "Fortunately, you can't." 

All you can do is pout some more, as Tenna takes you down a side street onto a new path. Here, the hustle and bustle quickly thins. The streets become lined with homes on the side you walk, while the other spreads into a vast meadow connected to part of the grand lake you'd caught a glimpse of before. The skyline continues behind it, with the golden bridge much clearer from here. Still at a distance, but close enough you can see the traffic running through it. It's probably the first time you've been so enchanted by a bridge, but with the city behind it, it practically glows.

Tenna pats your leg, a subtle hint to hang on as he crosses the street, bounding over the traffic with ease, and takes you toward the meadow. Just as you hoped he would. You can scarcely hide the smile it brings you, and now you know he sees it too.

Here, blooms of all shapes and sizes weave between tall blades of grass and fill the field with color. Yellows and reds speckled with whites and violets- a collection of wildflowers. You'd usually have to go to Asgore's for a sight like this. Not to mention how overwhelmingly spring-like the air here was in comparison to before. No exhaust, no food, just nature. You wonder how any of it even grew without sunlight, but with how bright the rest of the city was, perhaps they didn't need it.

Past the first steps of grass, a dirt path running down the center becomes clear. You could barely make out a bit of stone beneath Tenna's shoes, tapping against his heels with his every step. Well traversed, and man-made, evident by the few Darkners scattered about having picnics or simply lounging against the grass. 

"Do you come here often, Tenna?"

"When I need a moment to myself." He responds in that quiet way where his words are reserved just for you.

Further down the path, it forks toward a small dock that breaches from meadow to lake, ending at an ornate gazebo lit brightly by strings of warm lights woven around it. A cute, colorful couple that couldn't seem to tear their gaze away from one another took dominance of this spot. 

"The weather channel, Lanino and Elnina." He must have caught on to you staring, his own gaze shifting their way. "Enjoying their day off too. Together, as ever." He chuckles as they bat their eyelashes at one another.

"I thought you said Darkners were objects."

"That's the easiest way of putting it, but any concept can come to life with enough effort."

You hum curiously at the thought, only for your thoughts to be quickly interrupted by the hardcore make-out session the duo breaks into.

"Whoa!"

Suddenly Tenna's hand cups your jaw and turns you forward, "We should give them some space."

"Awh! But it was just getting good!"

He leads you further still, away from any Darkners, and where a pair of palm trees frame the lake just near the water's edge. Perhaps the only pair in the meadow, just like you two now. From here, the buildings behind the bridge clear to reveal a statue, though only its upper body. Large, and as shimmering gold as the bridge- a statue of Mr. Ant Tenna himself. Only with a flower on his nose. But it was a cute touch.

The real Tenna offers you his hand, and leads you back to the ground with as much grace as before. Then he sits, his legs politely off to one side, and gently tugs at your hand to join him. So you do, plopping yourself right beside him with your legs stretched comfortably. It'd been a while since you'd been this low to the ground, and there was even a hint of moisture still against the grass, like it hasn't fully dried from a recent shower. It's refreshing against your exposed skin.

The two of you look out toward the lake in silence, at the glow of the city reflected against the waters. The echoes of the business world don't reach you here, only the sound of a gentle breeze caressing the foliage around you.

"Sooo.. What do you think of the world you've seen so far?" Tenna asks, his voice carrying a hint of uncertainty, "I know it's far from perfect, maybe it's not really your style, but-"

Your lips curve into a small smile with a shake of your head, "I like it. A lot." His screen dusts a soft pink you almost miss as he returns your smile. "I've never seen anything like it, but I've had a lot of fun getting to know it so far." You lean back on your hands and sigh, "You know, this might sound weird, but I still think I might just suddenly wake up, and this will all have been a dream. That's probably dumb at this point, isn't it?"

Then his hand is on your cheek, surprising you. But he takes it between his thumb and index finger, and pulls lightly, reminding you that this is very much real.

And so is he.

"Thanks." you chuckle.

His hand leaves you sooner than you would have liked, and returns to his lap where it sits a bit restlessly. "I'm glad I could show it to you." He turns away, just to glance back hesitantly, "I knew that if- somehow- I could show you anything, it'd be this."

"The giant statue of yourself?" You tease, mimicking his 'pointing to the stars' pose.

He chuckles, "Well, at least I don't have to ask weather you like that or not."

You give him a gentle punch on his arm, which only gets another laugh out of him. You fell into that one, unfortunately.

Tenna's teasing demeanor quickly vanishes however, his shoulders dipping slightly with a sigh. "I really am glad. There's so much more I hope I can show you, in due time of course. Anything you want to see, it's yours to see. I owe you that much- for bringing this world back from the brink."

Tenna as you knew him now, was incredibly busy- whether on stage, managing the studio, or taking care of his world. He'd made time today for you. But there was a time where he had nothing but time. As he'd told you before, Darkners live to serve, and when they don't- when they lack a purpose- they turn to stone. And the Dreemurrs had no real need for him anymore. You'd seen it yourself- how they used him less and less. 

Powerless, desperate, he watched his people fade one by one, until it was just him. No one but him moved any more, and even he was growing weak.

So, in his desperation, he reached out. To his disbelief- Kris heard him. They must have felt some form of pity for him, to leave the weather channel on every now and then. But that was only enough to bring back Elnina and Lanino. For a while, that was at least enough to keep him from losing himself entirely in the wasteland his world had become.

Then Toriel decided it was time. Why keep the television on? She wanted it gone. So Kris made another plea- not one to keep him, but to pass him to you. Perhaps not entirely for Tenna's sake, but they did.

"If you hadn't taken me in, perhaps I would have simply sat out in the rain the following day. Until I froze over..." He says it so casually, like he's talking about falling asleep.

The image feels just as cold in your chest. You feel it's a fate worse than turning into stone, and know it's a fate he very much dodged.

"I know I've said this before, probably too many times now, but... I can't thank you enough. Kris did their best to convince Toriel to give me to you, and you- you didn't have to accept. She didn't think you would. But you did." He chuckles softly, a fragile little sound. His cheeks glow a mute pink, like many times before, and though he smiles just the same, it doesn't quite feel the same. "You watched me. You watched us. You brought my world back with so little effort.. I'm.. so grateful they can't remember how bad it got."

His words land heavily in your chest, every word steeped in emotion you don't miss.

You shift onto your knees, slowly turning to face him. "Tenna.." but your voice comes out as little more than a breath, barely audible over the soft crackle of static that buzzes in his throat.

"And then," he exhales, trembling, "you reached out to me." A laugh rips through him, something steeped in disbelief, "And I... All I can do is lie..." His voice crackles in a gasp, like he's said too much.

Near the edge of his screen- at just about where his eyes might level- a singular tear bubbles to the surface and rolls down his face, leaving a faint rainbow trail behind it. You reach out, and brush it away with your thumb. Your skin tingles where it touched.

"I'm sorry," he laughs. But more follow. And still, he smiles. 

But you can't return it. Not when, behind the relief he must feel, his smile is so steeped in pain- in a lingering fear. Like some part of him still expects you to reject him. His hands tremble in his lap, like he's bracing himself for it.

You wonder how long he's carried all of this. How often he sat in silence, waiting for something- anything- to change, while his world came crashing down around him.

You know the ache of it too well.

Tenna's hand finds your cheek, his thumb catching a tear before you even realize it's fallen. "Why are you crying.." He whispers, steady and gentle- but his frame betrays his tone, the whole of him trembling as you pull him into your embrace.

You bury your face in his shoulder, arms wrapped around him like it's instinct. "How could I not, when you-" but your words fail you, cut short by a sob you can't hold back.

"You know I don't know what to do when you cry." He murmurs, his voice muffled as he pulls you tighter, arms curling around you with a desperation so subtle it aches.

"Then stop crying," you hiccup, "because neither do I."

But neither of you can. Not yet. So you stay just as you are- wrapped in each other, in silent, mutual comfort.

The tears eventually slow, but neither of you moves for a while.

As your sniffles come to a slow, you begin to pick up on a hum- or perhaps another purr- against the side of your head where Tenna's face had buried itself. You'd had to close your eyes due to the brightness of his screen, but can faintly feel his nose woven through your hair, wiggling every now and then with his own sniffling. At some point his grip on you grew slack compared to the one you held on him, but he seemed reluctant to fully pull away.

You give his back a gentle pat, and decide to finally break the silence. "You don't produce snot, do you?" 

"No, wh-?" And only then does he seem to realize. With a gasp, his hands find your arms and tear you away from him. He holds you at arms length, inadvertently knocking you back into the grass. A somewhat withdrawn horror plays on his face. "I'm so, so sorry.." He's quick to smooth your hair down, his fingers brushing carefully through it.

You can only snicker, relieved he looks better, "Don't worry about it." You comb through it yourself to find it feels rather soaked to your surprise. Your shoulder feels a bit damp in comparison, your hair clearly taking the brunt of his tears. "Let's call it even," You say, pointing to his darkened collar. He's lucky you didn't snot all over him.

"A...alright." He turns away, but you can see that familiar dim pink at his cheeks. He's clearly embarrassed, the poor guy. But you don't mind one bit.

It's the last thing on your mind right now.

"Hey, Tenna?" You tip-toe toward your chance, before it fades.

"Yes?" He shuffles slightly, his hands politely on his lap once more.

But you take one into yours, "Um, what you were saying before-" 

❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ 

Tenna freezes, suddenly too afraid to move.

He can still feel the wet warmth of your tears on his shirt. Can still feel where your arms wrapped around him- where your small hands stroking the back of his head so reassuringly. Yet the horror of what you might say next seemed to rip it all away, and leave him terribly cold. 

You hesitate, unsure of how to begin, and his mechanical heart can only drum in anticipation. He can say it before you do. Beat you to the punch.

Just one word.

'Yes'.

He watched you every second you appeared in front of him. Watched you sleep, watched you try and stay up to read your silly stories on the couch and fail miserably. He watched you slip on a spilled batch of pancake batter, watched you sadly prune your flowers, heard your phone call. Of course you knew. He slipped up enough that you had to know he had been there for all of that. He'd told you himself he watched you often.

But he lied. And he continued to lie. Through omission and straight to your face.

'I'll forgive you in exchange for a tour of your workplace.' You had said so once, but you couldn't have meant it- wouldn't have. Not if you knew.

What if he told you he knew everything, remembered it better than even you did. The smile you'd wear in front of Toriel- how it'd crack when you thought no one was looking. How your cheeks began to slim with every diagnosis. The sound of you falling to pieces in the Dreemurr doorway. 

How he hadn't turned away.

He never turned away.

And then, he became yours.

Here, he learned you still don't sleep well, that you skipped on dinner much too often. That this house was much too big for just you. And it pained him to remind you to eat, to send you off to work with well wishes, with the guilt that he'd seen you so close to ruin once before. 

You shone so brightly these days, he couldn't bear it if you faltered after learning he'd broken your trust, before you even began to trust him.

"I just.." You squeeze his hand, determination knit into your brows. "I know you must have had a lot of time on your hands at some point, and maybe there's nothing else you could have done but... um... watch." But still you look so nervous at the implications. Or could that be masked disgust. "What I mean, is, um... I don't know why you act so weird about it, but no matter what you've seen, I'll never be upset with you."

Liar.

"So, whatever it is, and why it bothers you so much- you can tell me."

The softness in your gaze, that pleading look in your eyes. It stings deep in his chest.

You don't know what you're asking.

"I... appreciate that." He manages.

If only it could be so easy- to slip back into your warmth and tell you everything. To let you cradle the shame he's carried too long.

But what if you didn't? What if you looked at him differently.

What if you never wanted to look at him again?

He didn't deserve your warmth.

So, instead, he gently pulls away- a coward's distance. Not far, but far enough. 

Your arms fall back against your sides with a quiet, "Okay." And you smile. That small, practiced, glass-like smile that he hadn't seen in years.

And he realizes, that he's already put himself on the path he wanted to avoid the most.

❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ 

You settle back into your spot on the grass, your knees pulled up tight against your chest and your gaze cast out to the waters once more. You're sure, if it could feel your stare, that it'd be bubbling from how pissed off you feel. You wanted to shake Tenna, to grab him by the shoulders and yell at him that you don't care if he saw you in your underwear- you just want him to be honest with you. Did he not trust you? Were you not close enough?

You sigh into your arms and bury your face against your knees. The gentle breeze feels especially cold against your damp body, making you realize just how warm he'd felt against you. 

"Oh my!" A soft, lovely, voice, like wind chimes rings behind you, stealing your attention. "Well, look who's out of the tower for once!"

Followed by a deep voice with a smoky cadence to it, "Are we hallucinating?"

Tenna blocks most of your view, but you can see their colors clearly.

"What's the occasion?" Elnina teases.

"Just.. enjoying the weather." Tenna grumbles, clearly not expecting the company.

"You're enjoying us?!" Lanino laughs, his voice bellowing. 

You lean back to see just past Tenna, where Lanino and Elnina stand above the two of you, beaming, their hands cutely woven together.

And then, Elnina gasps. "Ohh! Wait- wait, wait, wait! Is that-"

The flames on Lanino's shoulders seem to stoke anew, "It is!"

"Our Lightner!" They cheer in unison.

Your breath hitches in surprise as both of them suddenly descend on you gleefully. Elnina circles you in a whirlwind of sparkles and soft gusts while Lanino reaches down and pulls you half-up into a warm, swirling hug. You're sure they mean well, but the sudden spotlight feels like too much, too soon. Especially with the raw ache of the silence you'd been sitting in just moments ago.

You glance over at Tenna, who looks as irritated as you had felt, but doesn't stop them.

"Oh, goodness, did you fall in the lake?" Lanino snaps his fingers, and suddenly the cold half of you feels just a touch empty. "Much better, and dare I say, you're much cuter out of costume! Don't you agree, Elnina?" 

Her hand is gentle on your head, petting side to side just in the center, "Oh, I don't know. I quite liked the ears!" 

You feel as if you're slowly beginning to piece a whole other mystery together. But the flurry in front of you doesn't let you dwell on it long.

Now you're on your feet again, face to face with the weather. You're surprised that up close they're shoulder to shoulder and just a head or two taller than you. But as he stands, they're still much shorter than Tenna.

He crosses his arms. "Allow me to formerly introduce you to the weather, Lanino and Elnina." It's the most unenthusiastic introduction so far, but you're sure it's not their fault.

"My, did we interrupt something? I feel a bit of a.. chill." Elnina shivers dramatically, feigning weariness.

You shake your head. "We were just talking. It's nice to finally meet you," You smile, shaking each of their hands simultaneously. 

"How's the city treating you? Ol' Ant been showing you around?" Lanino winks. 

"It's been a busy day, that's for sure!" You hope your laugh doesn't sound too forced. "We're taking a break now, actually."

The duo exchange a glance, and grin.

"Well, you have to come tour the studio with us next!" The say in unison, each tugging you toward them by the hand. 

"We'll show you everything!" Lanino says. 

"The green room, the lighting beams, the fog machine room!" Elnina adds.

That gets a laugh out of you. A promise of nothing held back. It unknowingly carries you toward them.

"We'll even throw in a song or two!" They joke amongst each other.

And then you feel it. A gentle pinch on your vest at the small of your back, strong enough to keep you from being pulled any further. And your throat feels tight once more. 

Lord of mixed signals.

"I'm sorry," You slip from their grip. "I already promised to go with Mr. Tenna."

They exchanged another glance, and nod in agreement of something unsaid.

"Rain check, then!" Elnina beams. 

"A real shame. Sorry, Boss, but I bet we coulda shown 'em a better time." Lanino shrugs.

Tenna stays eerily quiet, yet you feel a small crinkle of static and you're not so sure it's Elnina.

They give you a small bow goodbye before returning to each other's hold and floating further down the meadow together.

You feel as if you can finally breathe again, but the lack of distraction leaves your feelings of frustration to return, unbridled. For some reason, you can't get Lanino's name for him out of your head. A symbol of their relationship, no doubt. While you just backtracked to calling him 'Mr.' Tenna. Just what did you expect, anyway. You hardly know the man. Was it irrational to want him to open up to you? After living as roommates for the past month, after talking as much as you did, you didn't think so.

"It's been a busy day, right?" You feel him squeeze at your vest- squeeze at your heart. But you can't bring yourself to look at him. "Why don't we go home?" 

As if to avoid the awkwardness that walking all the way back to the studio might invite, Tenna snaps the two of you back into his living room. Only then do you finally feel him let go of your vest.

And you immediately keel over against the arm of the couch, the difference in altitude taking you by surprise, "I didn't know you- ugh- could do that.." The room spins uncomfortably, forcing your face into the upholstery. 

"I'm sorry.." He mutters. But it's not exactly what you want to hear. You know he isn't apologizing for what he should be, again.

For a moment you think you feel his hand beside you, only to feel it pull away.

"It's fine." You slink away from where you felt it. "I think I just need to lie down for a minute."  

"Perhaps... you should." His voice is impossibly quiet, unnatural, like a faulty signal. "In... your bed." 

Oh.

You huff out a laugh, the dizziness suddenly turning into a headache. 

"Fine." You bite down on your bottom lip. "How do I leave." 

You feel his hand beside you once more, but you ignore it and push yourself to your feet. When you finally face him, you notice he lacks any facial features whatsoever. A completely blank screen that you couldn't read if you wanted to.

Suddenly, looking at him makes your head feel like its splitting apart. You tear your eyes away, focusing on his shoes instead. 

"This way."

They move toward the hallway, and you follow. Past the lavish bathroom, past your unused bedroom, and his that you had yet to even see.

At the end of the hall, just perfectly in the dark, you can make out the outline of a door you hadn't noticed before. Upon opening it, you're met with nothing but a sparkling light on the other side. All you have to do, is step through it. He makes no effort to stop you, and you can't look at him a second longer, so you do.

Enveloped in warm light, you feel the disconnect with the ground. You're not sure if it's the sudden weightlessness or the way Tenna's gaze points toward the floor, that gives you that sinking feeling, but soon you readjust, and touch down in darkness. You take a step forward, and find yourself in your hallway. A quiet click behind you alerts you., but the only thing there is the door to your coat closet. When you try the handle, it refuses to budge. You can't go back.

You sigh, and step out toward your living room. 

Everything's just as you left it. You feel like the only thing out of place.

Your phone sits on the couch, just where you'd left it, illuminated in moonlight. You take it into your hand, your face lighting it up instantly by the light of your wallpaper- a photo of you wrapped around your grandmother's neck while she holds up a pair of bunny ears with her fingers behind your head. 

"You wouldn't believe the day I had.." you scoff. And it was only midnight. 

But your phone quickly grows blurry in your hands. 

A small droplet hits your phone screen, startling you. Not the droplet itself. But the color of it.

Red.

"...Huh?" You gasp, hesitantly touching your nose. You taste copper.

Your head throbs, your chest aches. Feelings you'd momentarily been distracted from return, tenfold.

Your knees buckle beneath you, and you just barely catch yourself on the arm of the couch. But your hold falters.

Everything goes black.