Archive of Our Own ^beta

Battat wasn't like the other pippinses.

Or at least that's what he liked to tell himself.

He didn't gamble his points away every night; he didn't break the rules. He wasn't like the rest of his kind. He wasn't lucky like the others. He was pretty sure he was actually weighted and designed specifically to only roll ones. He was strictly a rule follower and enforcer, much to his fellow pippins' dismay. He didn't even look like a regular pippins; Battat was a foot taller, and he kept both eyes open at all times. Oh, and he was a green colour, rather than the typical red like the others. He was just different to them, an outsider—in most ways, at least.

That being said, there was one thing he shared with his species...

And that was that: he was a big fan of being rocked, shaken, and tossed.

No one knew that fact— and he'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much! He tried his best not to look envious when he saw other pippins getting shaken around him. He always told others it made him dizzy, which wasn't common for pippins. It wasn't a lie, he did get dizzy more easily than a regular pippins did. He lied about his hatred for being spun, not wanting to deal with all the feelings and woozy vulnerability that came with being shaken. His partners, Jongler, Pluey, and Ramb, had no idea that he secretly wanted them to give him a random roll when he was being annoying or when he was stressed out enough for his thoughts to run together.

When the night got dark and things got to be too much, he would occasionally indulge and give himself a small spin to clear his head. However, in the daytime, he didn't dare attempt such a thing. Instead, he went about his day pretending to hate being spun. Unbeknownst to him, he had slowly developed an unconscious habit of rocking back and forth when stressed out or bored. It was a habit many pippins exhibited, especially when deprived of being spun for long periods. He didn't even notice the habit, had no idea he was even doing it in the first place.

Others did, however.

When Jongler and Pluey had first seen the behaviour, they were concerned for Battat's sanity. It had been an especially bad day working as "Mike". Tenna just hadn't left them alone all day, calling for them almost every minute of their shifts. When Battat returned after his shift, he had brought with him papers to deal with and enough anger and anxiety to fill his entire body for the next three days. As per usual, he had ignored Pluey's suggestion of taking a break and had taken to the desk in the corner of the room to work on the paperwork Tenna had given him.

A few hours in, he began to subtly rock back and forth. Pluey hadn't noticed it immediately, but eventually spotted the behaviour. Worried about his sanity since they'd never seen him do that before, they asked him if he was okay. They had only ever seen crazy people in movies do that behaviour, so it concerned them. Battat barely gave them an acceptable reaction, just an annoyed grunt and a half-hearted thumbs-up. The shadowguy continued to monitor him the rest of the night, just in case he got overwhelmed and they needed to step in. Strangely enough, as the hours ticked on, he had gotten the paperwork done and seemed to relax more and more.

The next time they noticed this habit was on a particularly slow work day. Tenna was busy finishing up a script for some upcoming broadcasts and didn't need much help with anything. Battat had gotten bored a few hours into waiting for Tenna to call on them and needed stimulation. So he started working on figuring out the Mike conspiracy. A few minutes in, Jongler pointed out that Battat was rocking back and forth, and Pluey told them about the last time he had seen the pippins do that. The two of them watched Battat the rest of the day, with him barely noticing their peering eyes, continuing his habit unperturbed.

Jongler and Pluey didn't know what to make of this behaviour. He didn't do this often, stimming that is, unless he was overstimulated. Whenever he was overwhelmed, it was never a good thing. He would shake one of his hands violently until he tired himself out, or he would hit himself in the head until he could think again. He would rant to himself while pacing around until he collapsed from exhaustion. He would sometimes just burst into frustrated, overstimulated tears from bottling up his emotions, while pushing Jongler and Pluey away in embarrassment at showing such emotion so openly. He could even work himself into a panic attack or a full-on shutdown or meltdown occasionally.

Battat hadn't done this before...

Was he finally losing his mind? Was this another repetitive behaviour that would lead to negative consequences? Had everything gotten worse all of a sudden, causing him to act like this? Had Battat finally reached his breaking point? Would he snap and do something he'd regret later? Would he bottle up his emotions and refuse to talk to them if they brought this up? They weren't sure, but they had to know if he was okay. And if he wasn't, they wanted to help him out sooner rather than later, for everyone's sake. Jongler and Pluey decided to ask him about it after a few moments of silent conversation on Pluey's notepad.

Battat was staring at his corkboard, mumbling to himself while rocking back and forth slowly, when the zapper and shadowguy duo walked up to him. He paid them no mind, not noticing them standing right next to him. He startled when Jongler covered their "mouth" and coughed to get his attention. He turned to them as he relaxed and glared at them for scaring him, "W-What? Do you need something?"

"Uh, yeah, boss. Plues and I's just hads a question to ask youes..." Jongler hesitantly started.

Battat eyed them both cautiously, immediately going through a mental list of everything they could possibly need to ask him about. He could think of a multitude of things they needed, and he was immediately suspicious they'd make him take a break or something when he was finally getting somewhere with his theories. He didn't realize it, but he hadn't stopped rocking once he eventually calmed down from the initial shock of being jump scared by Jongler. He slowly nodded as he said, "Okay... Is everything alright?"

"Yes, well... We thinks so... It's just—" Jongler hesitated before turning to Pluey for help.

"🎲👍❓(●︿●)" Pluey nodded and gently asked Battat if he had been feeling okay lately.

Battat stared at them as confusion morphed his expression, "Yes? Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, youes been rocking back and forth for the last few hours now... Youes sure youes doing alright, boss?" Jongler pointed out.

The pippins blinked in surprise and looked down at his body, seemingly noticing for the first time what he was doing. He slowly stopped rocking and sat as still as possible, feeling terribly embarrassed for getting caught. A slight flush spread over his greenish-white skin, and he shrugged half-heartedly while mumbling, "Oh, I guess I was. Didn't notice I was doing that... Um, but yeah, I'm fine. I'm just bored, that's all. So, no need to worry about me... Uh, i-is that all?"

When Jongler and Pluey nodded tentatively, he waved them away, stating that he needed to focus on the Mike conspiracy in peace. They eventually did leave him to his own devices, but they continued to watch him, just in case. He didn't rock much the rest of the day, and he didn't do it again the following few days. They almost forgot about it, caulking it up to a weird fluke, before they once again noticed him doing it. He was talking to Ramb the next time they saw him. He was holding onto the bar table with both hands to stabilize himself as he rocked in place slightly. Ramb didn't seem to notice or look concerned about the behaviour and engaged Battat like he usually did.

Battat didn't seem nervous or angry or stressed; he didn't even seem bored. No, he looked happy, actually. He was animatedly rambling to Ramb, laughing and joking with him. Yet, he was still subtly leaning back and forth. Pluey and Jongler joined him and sat next to him. Strangely enough, his rocking suddenly stopped once he noticed it was the two of them sitting next to him. The conversation didn't last very long afterwards, but he didn't seem angry at them or worried about them finding out he had been doing that again. Battat eventually left, saying he was tired and was actually going to go to sleep, which they all heavily doubted.

Once he was gone, Pluey turned to Ramb, asking if they thought Battat was okay, "🎲❓👍 (●︿●)"

Ramb seemed confused as they nodded and said, "Yeah! Well, I thought so, at least. He didn't seem off to me. Did something happen?"

"Nothing much, he's just been rocking back and forth lately. He's never done dat before, so we's were just concerned abouts him..." Jongler shrugged.

After a moment, a look of recognition appeared on Ramb's face, and he let out a small laugh. "Oh, trust me, luvs. That lil ol' thing is nothing to be worried about. Pippins do that all the time! Those little fellas love getting shaken, after all. I've seen them do that all the time! Totally natural behaviour from him if you asked me!"

"❌🎲 (>_<;;)" Pluey shook their head, explaining that Battat had always told them how he hated getting dizzy and that that's why they were concerned about the behaviour. They were worried he was making himself dizzy on purpose as a punishment for something or that he was subconsciously making himself uncomfortable. They were also worried that he was beginning to lose his mind for real because he'd never done this until now.

Ramb hummed to himself, "Well, he's not exactly... reliable when it comes to talking about his likes and preferences, now is he? Maybe he genuinely doesn't like being spun, and he is doing that for unpleasant purposes... But I wouldn't just believe his word on this, unfortunately, I mean, he actively denied having feelings for you two until you told him about yours after all. He didn't seem uncomfortable doing it just now, so I'd say his actions speak louder than his words this time 'round. Just observe him, especially when he thinks he's alone. I'm sure that'll speak more volume than anything else will, luv..."

"That's a great idea, Ramb! Youes a genius!" Jongler praised as Pluey nodded in agreement, making Ramb smile and flush slightly.

It was a fair assessment of Battat. He never let himself enjoy things, especially not out loud. He didn't like talking about himself or his likes and hobbies. He pretended not to like affection, even though he leaned into their touch every time they hugged or kissed him and got goosebumps even if given a light, meaningless touch. He clammed up when forced to talk about his feelings or what he wanted from his partners, even if it was something simple like a hug or to hold hands. They knew he didn't like being like his fellow pippinses, but would he really lie just to prevent himself the embarrassment of being like them? Would he really lie to prevent himself from something that made him happy?

Well, they would just have to find out, wouldn't they?

It took a few sleepless nights in the Mike room, pretending to be asleep just to observe Battat without him noticing, but eventually it happened. One night, when he thought they were fast asleep, Battat cautiously gave his head a small spin when he kept struggling to speak properly. They continued to observe him and found that he would rock back and forth when he thought they weren't looking, only stopping if they turned to spare him a glance. He only gave his head a quick spin when they were "asleep" and only if he was really stressed, sleep-deprived, or unable to think/speak properly. He always looked far happier afterwards as well, if not a bit dizzy and out of it—loopy, unguarded.

Safe to say, Battat was willing to lie to prevent himself from being happy.

Jongler and Pluey weren't going to let that continue any longer than necessary. They decided to confront him without really telling him that they had been secretly watching him—he was already paranoid enough as it was, they weren't about to make it worse. The two of them waited until Battat was stressed out, which didn't take very long since it seemed like that was a constant thing. It was late at night, and Battat was busy scribbling ideas in a notebook, and he looked miserable. He kept scribbling out errors and groaning at himself. His grip on the pencil he was furiously wearing down was tense, and his posture was incredibly stiff.

Jongler, with Pluey following close behind, made their way over to the desk Battat was sitting at. Naturally, he paid them no mind until they coughed to grab his attention. He startled, but swiftly relaxed and turned to stare at the zapper. Then, just as Battat opened his mouth to speak—probably to ask them what they wanted in a clipped, stressed-out voice—Jongler reached down and gave the pippins' head a spin. Battat choked on his words as his head spun and his eyes snapped shut instinctively.

The zapper knew Battat would probably pretend to be mad at them once he stopped spinning and figured out what just happened, but they could handle that. Battat was rarely truly angry with them, only getting mad at them when Jongler pulled him away from his work—and even then, he was moreso embarrassed and flustered by their concern rather than seriously mad. What they didn't predict would happen was the brief moment after Battat steadied his head, and he opened his eyes.

Battat's eyes were visibly spinning as he groaned and held his head still. Eventually, they stopped on a fixed position and briefly displayed six pips before morphing back to his regular single-pipped irises. He groaned again, holding his stomach slightly, and Jongler momentarily worried they had spun him too hard. He did look a little nauseous as he glanced up at them, but that's not what surprised Jongler about the interaction.

What surprised Jongler and Pluey the most was the loopy, happy-go-lucky, vulnerable expression on Battat's face. His eyes were half-lidded, and he let a giddy, dazed smile spread across his face. His cheeks were flushed bright green. He looked far more relaxed than he had probably ever looked in his life; all of the tension from earlier was gone, and in its place was pure relaxation for a few wonderful seconds. Until Battat's brain caught up and processed what just happened, causing him to snap out of it.

Battat flushed harder as realization swept over his expression and he blinked, mortified. He quickly tossed his head to the side, groaning at the feeling of nausea that it caused, which just added to the nausea he was already feeling thanks to being spun so quickly. He struggled to speak, opening and closing his mouth several times without saying anything. Jongler prodded him after a moment by asking if he was alright, and that seemed to snap him into action.

Without looking at them, he finally mumbled, "W-What was that for, Jongler?!"

The zapper shrugged, "Youes seemed stressed, boss."

"🎺 (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)!" Pluey agreed with them, letting out a small trumpet noise and nodding frantically.

"I-I thought I told you two I get dizzy easily..." He wasn't exactly lying; he clearly did get dizzy faster than other pippinses.

However, Pluey and Jongler saw through that statement now.

"Well, youes seemed to like it anyway..." Jongler ventured.

"👀 (・ω<)!" Pluey nodded, slightly teasing Battat as they folded their hands together, put on a cutesy expression, and made little blinking sounds in mockery. Battat seemed to shrink in on himself at that, immediately causing Pluey to backtrack and tell him he wasn't judging. He found it to be quite cute, actually, "💕❗(｡•́︿•̀｡)!!"

Battat, if it was possible, flushed harder at that and snapped his jaw shut with an audible click. The pippins seemed to slightly relax upon hearing that. He was still tense and he continued to look mortified by his reaction to being spun, but he was starting to realized the other two weren't judging or making fun of him. Jongler and Pluey knew the pippins didn't like being vulnerable or open with his emotions, and maybe that reaction was part of why he pretended not to like it for so long. Jongler wanted to know for sure.

"Why didja pretend to not likes being spun if ya really do, Batts?" Jongler swiftly asked, half-accusatory and half-curious.

Battat finally looked at the two darkners in front of him before pressing his lips together and looking away again. He took a few minutes, but eventually answered with, "That reaction's why. I know what pippinses look like after getting spun, I know we look ridiculous. We look like w-we're high or- or you know. It looks inappropriate sometimes! Plus, it makes me feel w-weird and too vulnerable or whatever it is you guys are always telling me I struggle with... N-Not to mention, I do actually get nauseous easier than a normal pippins... I wasn't lying about that part, just so you know... And I just—"

Jongler placed a hand on Battat's shoulder as soon as his explanation turned into a long-winded rant. It effectively shut him up. He stared at their arm in surprise and relaxed, and Jongler was sure that if his green gloves weren't on, he'd have goosebumps covering his pale skin. He had been horribly deprived of affection for years before Pluey, Jongler, and him became friends due to his own tendency to isolate himself with his work. The two of them, and Ramb, had been helping him work through that for the last few years, trying to give himself plenty of attention without overwhelming him at the same time. Though they weren't sure how well they had desensitised him. He always seemed to get overcome by any little touch. Luckily, he had gotten better over time and didn't stay frozen for quite as long as he used to.

"We's don't think youes looked weird just now, right Plues?" Jongler glanced to their left to look at the shadowguy. When Pluey frantically nodded, Jongler continued, "It's okay if youes like being spun, Batts. We's not judging ya. There's plenta of things zappers and shadowguys do that might seem weirds to a pippins. If ya really don't like it, we's won't do it again. But, if youes lying just so we's won't think youes are weird or whatever, then stop that."

"🌟 (•̀ᴗ•́)و" Pluey nodded before Battat could say anything. They quickly added that they wouldn't do it in public if that was part of the problem, but that they wanted to help Battat feel better, and spinning him seemed to do just that. It clearly helped him if he regularly did it to reset his brain when stuck or stressed out—thought, Pluey didn't say that part out loud. He simply told Battat not to let fear of being touchy-feely or vulnerable get in the way of something that genuinely made him happy.

Battat seemed to take their words to heart as he removed his gaze from Jongler's arm and glanced between Pluey and Jongler with a hopeful, soft expression. After a moment, his gaze flicked away once more, and he let out a small breath. Then, he muttered, "Ugh, f-fine... Maybe... Maybe I did like it, a little bit... But listen, if you're gonna start doing that more often, I don't want you to do it around others... Unless it's Ramb, I guess... Okay?"

Jongler and Pluey smiled at him and nodded in sync, both of them easily agreeing with the pippins' conditions. Battat couldn't help but give them both a small smile before forcing it down and waving them away while mumbling about how, now that his head had been reset thanks to that spin, he wanted to get back to his theorizing. They accepted that that was probably as vulnerable as Battat would let himself be for today and agreed to let him be alone with his thoughts—they understood he appreciated and loved them, but they also knew he needed space and time alone as well.

Before the two of them walked away, Battat softly, so softly that they almost didn't hear it, added, "And uh, t-thanks... for the spin, or w-whatever..."

Pluey played an "Awh" sound effect and blew Battat a little kiss in response, "💕 (≧﹏≦)!"

"No problem, Batts. Glad we's could make youes feel better!"

<hr>

Battat loved his boss—more than he was willing to admit—but he was a handful to deal with sometimes.

The man hated schedules and routines, it seemed. He was constantly calling for Mike at random times of the day, and he was never consistent with which "form" he wanted to see from him— Battat had realized early on that the reason why Tenna never noticed "Mike's" appearance changing when he started stepping in for the man was because Mike must've been a shapeshifter!; Which was a great piece of evidence for his board, but terrible when the other two joined. It completely messed up the schedule Battat had hoped the three of them would follow.

Tenna always changed plans suddenly. One minute, he liked the lighting the crew set up; the next, he hated it. One day, he wanted to work on scripts for upcoming shows alone, the next, he was sulking and begging for Mike to help him make the scripts because he was sure he'd mess them up somehow. The man could flip on a dime, and Battat often found himself grateful he didn't have any real hair or fur because he would've pulled it all out by this point in his life thanks to the CRT.

Battat liked Tenna, sure, but he also liked routine. He followed the rules, sticking to them like gum on the underside of a table. He appreciated when things went smoothly and orderly, it satisfied the Order element inside him—the Luck element never got anything, so give him the other one at least, right? Tenna's wishy-washy schedules annoyed Battat to no end. He didn't mind when he would change his own plans, but he hated it when others neglected the plans they made together. If you asked Battat if he handled change well, he'd probably say he did, because his brain often needed a little spontaneity so he wouldn't get bored out of his mind, but in reality, he didn't handle change well at all.

He sucked at it, actually.

The whole idea about handling change well was not based on the idea of being okay with changing your own plans, but how others changing plans made you feel. That, Battat was horrible at dealing with. Whenever Tenna changed his mind and told Mike to cancel something for the day, Battat would silently lose his mind. His whole day would be ruined, and he never knew what to do with himself for the rest of the day. What was even worse was when Tenna would randomly add something to the schedule, causing the three Mikes to scramble to prepare for said addition.

Jongler and Pluey were similarly affected by changing schedules, but they didn't quite mind as much as Battat did, especially not Pluey, who was rather chill when it came to the topic. The three of them, as different as they were, happened to have similar quirks. Battat and Jongler both got easily overstimulated, especially when they were in their costumes—even after Battat remade the zapper's suit when they found out it was uncomfortable for them to wear. Pluey and Battat both liked repetitive behaviours, such as rocking back and forth for Battat and playing with cat toys for Pluey. Jongler and Pluey both liked to stay silent in social settings.

Simply put, their brains worked similarly to each other.

But neither of them got as upset as Battat did when plans were altered.

No, it was only Battat who was crying frustrated tears and wishing he could tear his nonexistent hair out by himself when Tenna suddenly sprung multiple, difficult activities on Mike out of nowhere in the middle of the night. It was supposed to be Pluey's shift right now, but Tenna had called for "small Mike", and then added several things to the schedule, despite it being a few hours from midnight. Battat, after he had weaselled out from Tenna's sight, ran to the Mike room. He then proceeded to work himself into a panic attack.

Battat was frozen, filled with anxiety. Tenna had given him multiple tasks, but he couldn't bring himself to do any of them. He couldn't find it in himself to read the scripts Tenna shoved in his hands or review the several shows he'd send to the Mikes' computer or get the set in order for the next day's show. No, all Battat could do was panic, do nothing, feel bad and stupid for panicking, and cry in frustration while feeling stupid before beginning to panic again and then the whole cycle started all over again. He knew he had a job to do, multiple actually, but he was glued in place, struggling to deal with some stupid schedule changes.

Why couldn't his stupid brain get over it already and start working?! It was just a little change in routine. Wasn't it nice that Tenna trusted him, of all the Mikes, to do all of this work—even though he thought they were the same guy? Didn't it make him feel appreciated that he was the most responsible and orderly Mike? It did, it definitely did, but he also couldn't handle it. He had already been pissed off when Pluey radioed him into work when it was supposed to be his time off, so the addition of the extra work was enough to send Battat into something akin to a meltdown.

Battat felt like a child, crying over their homework. His claws, which were digging into his arm, were the only things that kept him grounded enough to think—which was probably not a good thing now that he thought about it. All that did was cause him more panic and more tears and more anger and guilt and more hatred of himself and his dumb brain. He wanted Pluey and Jongler. They would know how to get him out of the state he had worked himself into. They'd help him with all that extra work. He hated that he wanted to radio them and plead for them to come over like a child, but he also knew he would never get anything done like this. As much as he hated Tenna right now, he also still stupidly loved him and wanted to make him proud.

After gathering up the courage, Battat hesitantly let go of his arm and reached a shaky hand down to the small, black radio attached to his hip. He wiped away his tears and tried to sound coherent as he pressed the talk button. It clicked to life, and he was silent for a moment too long, trying to think of anything to say and yelling at himself to say something, anything at all. He felt more tears pool and accidentally let out a sob. He immediately removed his finger in embarrassment, and only briefly thought about throwing the radio at the wall. He started to cry again, hating the fact that his sob had been loud enough for the two of them, and anyone nearby, to hear him.

Immediately, his radio sparked to life from the other end, with Jongler asking, "Boss? Is everything a'right? Do youes needs us to come over?"

Battat debated not answering, but pressed the button down after a sudden burst of confidence at simply hearing their voice, "P-Please..."

"We'll be right der, Batts."

Surprisingly, they weren't wrong—or maybe they were, and Battat just dissociated while waiting for them to show up. Either way, they were here now. Despite how horrible he felt for making them come in to work to take care of his issues and about crying in front of them and about worrying them, he was also so pleased to see them. Jongler and Pluey were immediately concerned upon seeing him and rushed over, hovering and asking him questions he couldn't quite focus on. All he did was point to the whiteboard near the desk next to the conspiracy board, where he had written down all the extra work he'd just received. He had begun panicking after that, so he was now standing a good distance from it after he had spent a few minutes pacing the room.

Jongler slithered over to take a look at the board while Pluey reached up to wipe Battat's tears away—which totally didn't work because it was so sweet and tender that it only made the pippins cry harder. Jongler was back at Battat's side before he knew it and told Pluey what the whiteboard said. They both understood now what Battat was so upset over, and he felt so ridiculous. He couldn't believe he was so upset about something so simple, but he also couldn't bring himself to care anymore. He was exhausted. Pluey and Jongler were here; they'd take care of it—they'd take care of him.

Battat leaned into the hands still holding his face, closing his eyes and letting Pluey guide him into a hug. The shadowguy held him softly and rocked him back and forth as Jongler told him about how they were going to help him. He would find a way to thank them both later, but for now, all he could do was nod and let Pluey pick him up. He was swiftly carried to the only bed in the room and lay down. He protested when the shadowguy slowly pulled away and held them in place.

Pluey pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead while telling him that he was just going to get him some water and would be right back, "💧(｡•́︿•̀｡)"

Battat didn't care and shook his head, "P-Please st-stay..."

"🆗 (｡•́ω•̀｡)" The shadowguy nodded and kissed his forehead again, instantly crumbling and crawling into the bed at Battat's gentle request. Battat never let himself be so open, so Pluey wasn't about to make that worse by pulling away or abandoning him. Instead, Pluey wrapped the pippins up and pulled him into his chest. He whispered sweet nothings in soft chimes and told Battat that it was all going to be okay. He played a soft melody, as he rubbed circles into Battat's back—something from a kalimba, maybe?

Battat relaxed into the shadowguy as he tried not to feel guilty about making Jongler do the work he was given. He knew the zapper liked doing paperwork and video editing more than any other task Tenna gave Mike, and he knew that Tenna had given the work to "Mike", and Jongler was "Mike". But, he still couldn't help it. He still felt bad. He felt horrible about worrying them, making Pluey take care of him like this, even though he knew they didn't mind. He loved these two so much, and he didn't know how to let them know how much he appreciated them.

"I'm s-sorry—" Battat mumbled.

"🚫 (⇀‸↼)" Pluey cut him off, shushed him, and shook his head. He told Battat that it was alright, and they were happy he called them instead of trying to do it all by himself like he used to do. They were so proud of him for asking for help, and they wanted him to know that he and Jongler would always be there to take his place when he couldn't hold himself up anymore. He and Jongler would always be there to take on what he couldn't handle, to lessen the weight on his shoulders, because they loved him so dearly.

Despite their voice just sounding like music and sound to others, Battat could understand the words behind the music. He couldn't be more grateful to his past self for learning the shadowguy's language, since it allowed him to hear all of that with his own ears. It was exactly what he needed to hear, and he didn't know how to respond to their sweet message aside from crying harder. Pluey's voice was so gentle and melodic, and they put so much emotion into their musical words. All he could do was sigh, laying all of his weight on the shadowguy as exhaustion began to take over his body. Then, he muttered, "I don't know what I'd do without you two..."

Another gentle kiss was pressed to his forehead in place of words, and Pluey was silent for a moment. It seemed that he had made them just as speechless as they made him. After letting the soft moment pass, Pluey squeezed Battat tight and curled their tail around his leg. They then cracked their knuckles and made a joke about needing to have a word with Tenna later for making the pippins feel so bad, well, a half-joke, Battat supposed. "📺 🔨(ง •̀_•́)ง"

It was enough to make Battat huff out a laugh. He closed his eyes and mumbled sleepily, "Hmm, don't break Tenna, please... But, maybe we should talk to him about this whole schedule issue... Just don't kill him, okay? I still like him even if he's hard to deal with sometimes..." When Pluey sighed dramatically and reluctantly nodded with a fond, slightly teasing expression, Battat snuggled into them and added, "Thank you. I love you two so much. Thank you for helping me..."

"💕2️⃣ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)!"

<hr>

As proud as Battat was of his Mike costume, he also viscerally hated wearing the damn thing.

Battat got hot easily. He needed a fan to sleep, even when it got to the colder months of the year. He rarely pulled the blankets over himself before going to sleep, and when he did, they usually covered his midsection only. Even in his normal apparel, he tended to overheat without warning. It was just another thing that made him different from his fellow pippinses, who were usually room temperature or cold to the touch. Naturally, the Mike suit was a nightmare to wear.

He put as many cooling features as possible after his first shift, where he almost passed out in front of Tenna and the rest of the crew. Yet, it wasn't all too effective. The ice packs helped, but they didn't fend off the heat entirely. He regularly had to take breaks from being "small Mike", as Tenna liked to call him. Worst of all was the sweat and uncomfortable feeling he got from being hot all the time. He got overstimulated frequently because of it and sometimes wished he could just reveal the whole Mike scandal to rid himself of the need to wear his costume.

He didn't, though. Tenna need a "Mike".

He could endure it... Most of the time, at least, and when he couldn't, Ramb was always willing to let him hide behind the bar for a few minutes. Which was exactly what he was going to do right now. Tenna had him running all over the place that day, causing him to overheat and slowly become more and more irritable as he got more and more overstimulated. Everything was loud and bright and hot and gross, and he hated it. He wanted to hide away for the rest of time, but he knew that was a bad idea. He didn't want to run away and hide or yell at Tenna or do something he would regret later, so he subtly made his way to the bar and waited for Ramb to finish up an order he'd just taken.

Once he was done, he turned to the "microphone" and asked, "Hey, Mike, what's up?"

"Hi, can I hide back there for a while..." Battat asked, its voice sounding small and monotone, closer to Battat's real voice than its Mike one.

Ramb's smile crumbled at that and swiftly nodded, "Of course, luv. Come on back here... Mike..."

Battat felt a wave of relief crash over him as it nodded and made its way backstage. Upon getting into the room, it half-heartedly greeted Ramb and sat down by the bar's mini fridge. It was small enough to fold itself up and hide behind the wall, wedged in between it and the fridge. No one could see it here unless they leaned over the bar top and looked down, which no one ever did. So, almost immediately, it ripped its costume's head off and breathed a sigh of both relief and frustration.

"Feel better, luv? Do ya want a fresh ice pack? I've got one in 'ere I ain't gonna use for anything..." Ramb said as he gave the mini fridge a quick pat.

"Please..." Battat muttered, closing its eyes for a moment and holding its hand out.

"Of course," Ramb replied as he opened the fridge and handed the ice pack to Battat.

Battat melted as the sharp cold burned into his hand and quickly laid the bag on his forehead, sighing once again. He felt utterly miserable. He was sweaty, gross, nauseous, and sore. His limbs ached from the walking around TV World he was ordered to do. Every sound was amplified, as if he were sitting next to the loudspeaker at a club, as it blasted his ears with shitty pop songs every knew. Every time the foam padding and melted ice packs inside his suit brushed against his tank top, shorts, or exposed skin felt like knives digging into him. His thin clothes clung to his body uncomfortably, and he felt like he couldn't sit back properly without feeling gross.

"Doll, take the whole damn thing off. No one can see ya back here..." Ramb muttered as he cleaned a few dishes in the sink, the water dripping out as slowly as possible as not to make more sound than necessary. He was cleaning as quietly as possible, and as soon as Battat realized it, he felt his heart flutter. Listen, it was the little things that mattered to Battat, okay?

A pang of paranoia shot through Battat at the idea, but he ultimately decided it was a good idea in the long run. He, without standing up, for multiple reasons, shimmied out of the whole suit. It was uncomfortable and awkward, and paranoia squeezed him like a stress toy until he eventually got it all off and hid it. Ramb smiled at him once he looked back up at them, and Battat could deal with the sweet, concerned look on his face without fearing bursting into tears. He simply closed his eyes and sighed.

Battat knew Tenna didn't know about his struggles with exercise or overheating easily, but couldn't the guy ask "cowboy hat Mike" to do this back-and-forth work? He loved bossing others around, sure, but he wasn't known for working out or anything like that. Jongler was the strong Mike. They didn't get tired and overheat simply from walking in circles around TV World! Hell, even "cat Mike" would've been a better "form" to ask for. Pluey was fast, and she didn't get hot in her suit. She was constantly cold to the touch—she was made of shadows after all—and often wore the damn thing even when it wasn't necessary. Even standing up too quickly caused him problems sometimes. He wasn't the Mike to ask for tasks like that.

Yet, for some reason, Tenna asked him to do it.

And even though Tenna was a pain from time to time, Battat would do almost anything for him. He cared about Tenna more than most probably. Everyone loved Tenna in their own ways, despite how bad of a boss he was some of the time. No one in TV World was lying when they said they loved TV, but they all had their own opinions of the CRT. He was clingy, obsessive, lowkey manipulative, and overall a messy darkner. Most put up with it because aside from his... outbursts, he was great to work with and fun. Battat had similar beliefs, but his went far deeper than he liked to admit.

Yes, Tenna had problems. He was too pushy, too clingy. He fired and rehired his employees on a whim, impulsively. He had troubling, unstable relationships with those close to him, such as Mike, Lanino and Elnina, and a certain mailman—when he still worked in close proximity to TV World, that is. When that mailman hadn't abandoned his responsibilities and ex-husband out of nowhere, the two were rocky at best. Tenna often shared his insecurities about the relationship with Mike. Battat always wished the CRT would go see a real therapist instead, because it was obvious Tenna was dealing with real problems that neither Battat, Pluey, nor Jongler were fully capable of helping him deal with.

Yet, Battat, and subsequently Jongler and Pluey, handled it. They dealt with Tenna's issues to the best of their abilities. They reassured him when necessary, set boundaries when needed, and let him talk to them if he was struggling. They cared for Tenna because they cared about him. Battat, Jongler, and Pluey stayed by Tenna's side, even when others—like a certain mailman, for example—would've rather run away. They loved him despite his flaws. And maybe that love went a little deeper than Battat himself was personally willing to admit fully, but he definitely showed it in times like this. Times when it got difficult, but he stuck to his resolve to stay even when another part of him wanted to run very far away.

"Batts, don't fall asleep on us. Ya still got a job to do, unfortunately..." Ramb suddenly said, snapping Battat out of his thoughts.

He coughed and sat up, "I'm not falling asleep. Was just thinking... and careful with that name, you never know who's listening..."

Ramb shook his head and smiled fondly as he sat down in front of Battat, "No one's around, luv. Just us. How are you feeling now?"

The pippins blushed as Ramb brought a hand up and cupped his cheek before grabbing the now mostly melted ice pack. Ramb rubbed his cold forehead, and he was grateful that his skin didn't work like a human's, because he had seen the effects of leaving an ice pack on one area for too long. He surveyed himself, trying to look for an answer to Ramb's question. He supposed he did feel better now. He wasn't sweating anymore, and his heart had crawled back down to a normal rhythm once again. He slowly nodded and smiled softly at Ramb.

Who knew taking a little break actually helped, huh?

"Alright, that's good. You seriously need to stop doing that. Spend shorter shifts in the suit, especially when you're getting overstimulated, luv. I don't like seeing ya like that..." Ramb leaned over and gave the pippins' forehead a soft kiss, warming it back up a bit.

Battat ducked his head and looked away, "Yeah, yeah... I know. I... just thought it wouldn't be that bad, since I was just walking, bossing others around. But I guess it was too much for me this time..." After a moment, he shrugged and mumbled, "Sorry I worried ya, Ramb..."

When he caught the plugboy's eyes again, they were soft, "It's quite alright, luv. Now, c'mon, let's get ya back out there before Tenna starts wondering where you ran off to... Do you want some help getting back in the suit? Cause I don't mind helping if you'd like..."

"Sure, if you wouldn't mind... Thank you," Battat muttered as he put the mask of his suit on.

"It's no problem, luv..."

It was slightly awkward, not to mention difficult, to put the suit back on without standing up, but they eventually did it. Ramb even helped him straighten his red bowtie. Once Battat was all dressed up again and ready to complete his duties for the day, he thanked Ramb again and carefully stood up. He made sure no one saw him before he brushed himself off and stepped back into character. Confidence came naturally to him in the Mike suit, where he was able to push his insecurities down and become a better version of himself. He, seeing that no one was watching, grabbed Ramb's hand and gave it a kiss before thanking him again and getting on his way.

"Thanks again for letting me crash here, Ramb! I'll see ya later, okay?"

Ramb giggled at him while playfully rolling his eyes, "Of course, Mike. You can always come to me when you need a break, okay?"

"I'll keep that in mind..." Battat said as he softened and nodded his head.

He turned around and took a deep breath, calming himself down just enough to leave and get back to work before Tenna started asking around for him. He walked to the door of the bar and opened it. He turned around and waved at Ramb with a little bow and a tip of his head. The purple-haired man just shooed him away with a fond smile on his face and waved back. Just as he turned around and began to shut the door behind him, he heard Ramb add something so quiet he wasn't certain if he imagined it or not.

"Anytime, I mean it. See ya later, Batts..."