hi I have ADHD and like the trash bois

A lot of your time together when offstage is spent with Tenna playing something for you on his screen. Sometimes you ask, but most of the time it's the showman clearly wanting your full attention on him, even if he's being blatantly greedy with it. You can't complain, as you love being able to hang out with him like this, encouraging his commentary when there's lapses or commercial breaks and drinking in whatever opinions and feedback he has towards the program.

Today, with you seated on top of his crossed legs, his screen begins to play what looks like an older fantasy movie. You can't help perking up, sitting up a bit more. Tenna quietly chuckles, shifting his hands from around your waist and commenting, "Nothing's even started yet, _____ – don't tell me you already know this one?"

"Hold on, give it a sec."

With that, he falls silent, letting the movie continue uninterrupted for the time being. You pay close attention, enthralled, until you start to grin with childlike excitement when the movie shifts its focus to—

"Pause, pause, pause—!"

Tenna quickly pauses the movie, his screen freezing on a distinct frame showing the full body of the dragon that's likely to star in this movie. "Woah, hey, what's going on with you?" He asks, giggling himself. "I don't think I've ever seen you so thrilled before! Is it the—"

"C'mere,"

"WOAH!" Quickly grabbing the sides of his frame, you tug Tenna's head closer to yourself, scanning over damn near every pixel on his screen. He audibly stammers, one of his hands moving to hold himself up. "C-Careful there, sweetheart! What are you—?"

"I'm trying to figure out what kind of dragon this one's inspired by."

"Oh?" Tenna's fluster calms down, his tense shoulders relaxing. "There's different kinds?"

"There's so many kinds of dragons!"

You let go of his frame and begin to gesture with your hands; it almost feels as though a dam had bursted inside you, as with that one question from him, you instinctively interpreted it as permission to elaborate. "There's a dragon for practically every location in the world! And they all have similar builds, which is like this big and long snake or lizard creature, and some of them have legs, or wings, or both. Sometimes the wings have fur too. They can come in all kinds of sizes, some smaller than me and a lot of them are even bigger than you! The western ones are—"

Suddenly, you pause. Just as you were about to continue, it's as if your entire body froze over, a sudden chill running down your spine as an uncomfortable churning develops in your stomach. You stammer, "Uh— I— Sorry, I started rambling. Go ahead, you can unpause now."

"Huh?" Tenna tilts his head – only now do you realize that during your babbling, he'd straightened his posture again, both his hands connecting at your lower back like before. "_____, no, you had something going there! Please, tell me more!"

"No, no, I didn't mean to do that, it's just—"

The paused frame of the dragon on his display blinks away with some glitching, and after a moment, Tenna's face appears. He's frowning, which only worsens the twisting in your stomach. "I promise I was listening! You were about to explain western dragons, right?"

You can't bring yourself to look up at him anymore, hanging your head down as your start to fidget with your fingers. "...Something like that..."

"So why'd you stop?"

When you struggle to respond, Tenna releases one of his hands from behind you to tuck a finger under your chin, tilting your head back up to him. He smiles, perhaps in reassurance. "You sounded so excited to tell me, how could I not be fascinated?"

"...I interrupted the movie though..."

"So? It can stay paused for now – I wanna hear more about this little fascination you have for dragons! They've clearly got more to them than I realized!"

You try to shake your head, but Tenna insists, "No, c'mon, now you've got me interested!"

That makes you pause. "You are?"

"Of course! That's what I've been saying this whole time, silly!"

"But— I mean— It's not...annoying?"

"Annoying?!" He gasps. "How could I ever see you being so passionate about something as annoying?! Do you have any idea how much you just absolutely lit up once you started? It's like I could see a blazing fire ignite inside you in real time!"

As if to mirror his phrasing, you feel your face start to grow warm. "I-I don't know about that..." You smile shakily, averting your gaze.

Tenna giggles at this, leaning down to nuzzle his screen to the top of your head. "Look, I don't know where you got that idea from about being annoying, but you don't gotta worry about that with me. The show, movie, or whatever I was playing can wait. If you've got something you wanna tell me – and with that much excitement – then I'm all ears, sweetheart."

You giggle lightly alongside him, reaching up to hold his frame as best as you can. After delivering a quick peck near your temple, Tenna sits up again. "Now, please, continue, _____. I wanna see that spark in your eyes again. Heh, it's almost like I'll be watching you now!"

With his encouragement, you feel more reinvigorated to resume your ramble from where you left off. It's admittedly a little difficult now and then, as you can feel that discomfort creeping back now and then, but when you look back to Tenna to see the overwhelmingly fond smile he gives you, gently prompting you with questions here and there to keep you talking, that uneasiness dissipates almost immediately every time.

Tenna:

When you come to, the first thing you notice is that the meter is gone. The second is that the Weather Duo are looking you over, checking you for harm. Both have a hand of yours clasped, giving you warmth on one side and coolness on the other. Somehow, it's refreshing.

"Tenna?" You intend to ask. Instead, his name comes out as a garbled mess, complete with stuttering.

Elnina smiles at you. "You blew a couple of his fuses. Not the worst damage he's taken, and that's excluding his cleaving. Ramb's fixing him right now, don't you worry."

You raise your eyebrows and tilt your head slightly, hoping she can explain without your verbally asking.

"Before you get the story, it's quite hilarious, let's get you on a couch, so you're more comfortable." Lanino says. You nod. Now that you're waking up, the floor is rather uncomfortable. At least you're in the green room, so getting to one is quick and easy. The two carry you, despite your wriggling to try and protest that you can walk, and set you down.

"Much better, yes?" Elnina asks.

You nod again, still not trusting your voice. The couch gives you a better view of Tenna, splayed on his back. Ramb's sitting atop his chest, the access points open as he rummages through them. He's got some sort of toolbox on hand, with a Pippins nearby for anything he doesn't have. The Weather Duo let you watch for a moment.

When Ramb realizes you're staring, he pulls himself up. "Don't worry, luv, you only popped a few fuses. Why don't you two tell [name] about the time he managed to disconnect his nervous system?" He then gives a quiet instruction to the Pippins nearby, who trots off.

"Hyaaan?" You let out, startled, as others around start laughing.

"Oh, that was hilarious! You start the tale, since you were there when it happened, my sunbeam."

"Of course, my dewdrop!" Lanino then starts off, telling the story.

You're laughing at the end of it as well. How your poor TV managed to do it was so strange, yet somehow something only he could have pulled off, and on himself, no less!

"Fortunately, after he recovered, Tenna found it to be funny as well." Elnina finishes the tale. "It's one that comes up for newcomers, and considering how long you've been coming around, it's surprising that you never heard it."

"To be-e fair," you start, before scowling and shaking your head. Hopefully the stutter is a temporary side effect. "I didn't s-start as an emp-employee."

"That's true." Battat had popped up to listen to the tale. "Also, record for the stutter is about five hours. You're not the first one to be electrocuted by Tenna. Or to electrocute him."

"Oh."

Ramb shuts the access points he'd been working through with a snap and buttons Tenna's shirt back up. "All right, he's rebooting. Give him a few minutes."

"O-okay." You watch as slowly, you swear you can see the minute movements of his inner mechanisms come to life. You can definitely see his hand twitch, and his screen light up with a test pattern. Finally, he groans, and his screen flips to his usual one.

"Sweetheart, when I say that I'm part of the show, I don't mean as fireworks!" He teases.

You start laughing again. "Tenna!"

Some Zappers help him to sit up. They're careful as they help him rise, and it's clear that he's lost use of his arms. His grin when he sees your worried look is sheepish. "Don't worry, they're not in pain. We will be on reruns for a few days, though, until I can feel them again."

"Bu-ut I saw yo-your hand twitch-" You cut yourself off as Ramb shakes his head.

"Part of his rebooting process, luv." the Plugboy says. "It's an unconscious action."

"Oh."

"Can you walk, at least? You gave both of us quite the shock." Tenna doesn't seem to notice or care that his tailcoat and shirt are still unbuttoned.

You're wobbly at first, but your movements quickly steady. You follow Tenna to his office with a Shadowman trailing, Tenna telling you other stories of ways he had gotten himself hurt, stuck, or at one point, snarled in pool noodles somehow. Tenna's set on making sure your mood it better, and you're determined that he doesn't make his disability worse.

Null:

You don't know how long you've been lying on the floor. Long enough for the cold tiles to warm up some, that's for certain. Slowly, you sit up, feeling some aftershocks ripple through you. At least the meter is gone.

"Tenna?" Your voice is small. Null, crashed on the ground a bit ahead of you, is unresponsive, which prompts you to scramble up and run over to him. You stumble, your movements unsteady, as you end up by his side.

"Tenna?" You rest your hand on his side. Silence again. Under your hand, all is still.

"Why you worried about him?" A voice asks behind you. You turn, to see Battat. "Not like anyone would care if he's dead."

"You better hope he's not." You growl out.

"Probably not, unfortunately, but as long as no one reboots him, we can shove him somewhere and have fun again. Who cares about him anyway?"

You're not one for violence. Your general aversion to it was one of the reasons Null liked you in the first place. So, you're surprised when you lash out, smashing the Pippins' dice head hard enough to send it flying. "I do! How do I get him back?! Tell me, or I'll make what he does to you seem like a love tap!"

The rest of his body chases down his head, picking it up and plopping it back where it normally sits. "Fine, fine. You'll have to restart his heart." He comes back over to you, though he carefully stays out of arm's reach. "Come on, you need to get inside him for that."

The two of you climb up onto Null's chest. The utter stillness and silence from him terrifies you, and you can feel your heart racing. You really don't want to lose him...

Battat starts unbuttoning Null's shirt, and you join him, getting his suitcoat, shirt, tie, and harness out of the way of where you two need to work.

"You'll have a better angle than me." He says, pulling out a flashlight. He clicks it on and aims it down into Null's chest cavity. "Way down there, you see that small black box? On the back, there's a switch. Off and on."

You nod, not trusting your voice right now. You're careful as you learn forward and down. Every previous time had been with the lower points, the upper half on his chest containing the vital machines that made Null work, had him be alive. He had always refused to let you even open those points up just to look. Too dangerous, considering your curiosity.

It takes a moment to find the black box. It's well-protected, and your hand just fits to reach the switch. You flick it off and on, and are rewarded with the sound of movement. As carefully as you had gotten in, you pull yourself up. With the mechanisms coming back to life, it feels dangerous.

Once you're back out and the access point closed, Battat turns off the light, stows it away, and hops off. "Well, I'm disappointed. Was hoping it was too late for him." He says, shrugging.

"Sometimes you're useful, and sometimes you're a massive pain in the ass." You retort, busy redressing Null.

"I've been trying to kill him for years, and something always goes wrong. You really think I care?"

You can tell Null heard that by how his arm shifts, quickly grabbing the green Pippins in a full-body chokehold. He starts to rise, slowly, and you lean forward, grabbing on tightly. You're not sure if Null realizes that you're still on his chest, but you don't want to fall off on accident anyway.

"Chair." Null snaps out. His screen is still dark, but you know that doesn't hinder his voice. "Now." He flings Battat away, who scrambles to get out of the room. Now free, his hand cradles you gently.

"I thought I lost you." You whisper with a sniffle. Now that you know he's not gone, your heart calms down, and your tears flood out.

"Take more than some shock and awe to take me out." He easily replies. "And that was very shocking."

Your snort is blubbery. "Dork."

Null's thumb starts gently rubbing the back of your head. "Don't call me that. Not in front of the others, at least."

"Is just us at the moment." You retort. "Also, I didn't know that a Pippins could have their head detached and be fine."

"You know why?"

You feel your face heat up. "I...kinda slapped his off."

"Impressive. They're normally very hard to knock off like that, usually their heads spin to a number and they shake off the damage." Null lets go of you and begins to maneuver himself to the nearest chair.

You grip his shirt tightly. "Your legs?"

"Dead. They'll be back in a couple of days, usually have a bit of a lag whenever I'm shut down like that."

"Oh." Now you feel guilty. You don't say anything as he gets himself into the chair, his legs sticking out somewhat awkwardly.

"Not your fault." He says once he's settled.

"You'd be fine right now if I hadn't done that." You insist.

"I may have ended up with a flare-up regardless. At least they're not in pain."

"Mmn." You bury your face into his shirt again, and he holds you closely.

Neither of you move until Battat returns with Null's wheelchair, setting it up next to the chair. You grip hard again, and Null switches chairs quickly. He's careful to not make you uncomfortable as he sets his feet on the footrest, and returns to holding you once he's settled.

"Three days at most." Null murmurs.

"You don't get to decide that." You point out, your voice muffled.