professional yapper

To say that Null can be rough with you during sex is an understatement. A lot of the time, when he's like this, you frankly enjoy the rougher treatment, being manhandled to his liking, pinned in a harsh and embarrassingly vulnerable position, and fucked to the point of delirium – something about his deliberate act of making sure he stays in control during these rougher sessions just really gets you going.

Tonight, though... It's hard to say.

You're not really sure what triggers it. Null has you situated on your knees in your shared bed, with one of his hands ensnared around your wrists to keep them behind your back, leaving the side of your face pressed into the mattress. He leans down and over you completely, his screen glowing just above your head while he ruts into your core with precise and harsh thrusts. He openly chuckles as each smack of his hips against your ass pushes out a pathetic whine from your parted lips, the sheets beneath stained with your drool.

"C'mon, _____, I know you can be louder than that." Null goads intentionally. "Lemme hear you. Make some real noise."

It all feels so good. He's doing everything that the both of you know will make you clench around him just the way he likes, and yet...

...Something feels wrong. There's an uncomfortable twist in your stomach growing more and more prominent, to the point that it's becoming increasingly difficult to stay in the mood, even though you want this, you really do.

...At least...you're pretty sure you do. You were just as excited for this as he is not too long ago, but...

Null's movements suddenly stop, his cock buried to the hilt inside you, and he leans down more, the heat from his flushed screen radiating across your own fervent skin – it's almost dizzying. "Don't get all shy on me now, doll. We're only just getting started."

You clench your hands from behind your back, realizing how shaky and clammy they are, and the twisting in your stomach swiftly worsens, churning so violently that you feel as though your lungs have been compromised. It's so hard to breathe, especially in this position, and you vaguely feel as though you're going to be sick sooner or later.

Swallowing thickly, you manage to choke out, "C-Commercial—"

Null doesn't immediately move much upon hearing you, aside from his grip around your wrists shifting ever so slightly. The glow of his screen dims somewhat, from what you can tell in your peripheral, and you faintly feel a light chill as he slowly lifts some of his body off of yours, the almost suffocating heat he emits leaving with him. He's still buried deep inside you, but he hasn't tried to to start moving again, at least. It's almost as if he's intentionally staying pressed into you, to prevent as such.

"...Okay. Just...bear with me for a second." His tone is scarily calm, compared to the near carnality it had just moments ago.

Slowly, carefully, Null releases your wrists from his hold, allowing you to settle your arms underneath yourself and weakly push to lift yourself up. It's a bit relieving to not have your face buried in the sheets anymore, but your struggle to breathe is only worse off now, as you're suddenly overcome with intense guilt that forms as a painful lump in your throat, eliciting burning tears in your eyes. Everything's so cold, all of a sudden.

The hand previously holding your wrists gently slides to the side of your waist as he withdraws himself from you, granting you another small relief. The chilly air that brushes over your sweaty skin evokes a harsh shudder from you, however, and combined with the tight feeling in your chest, you fail to suppress a sob from escaping. You hiccup, and your vision quickly blurs to the point that you squeeze your eyes shut.

"I-I'm sorr—"

"Don't apologize." Null stops you, gently. His hand now only hovers at your waist as he asks, "Am I allowed to keep touching you?"

The chills over your entire body are unbearable at this point – you want his warmth now more than ever. You nod shakily, however he adds, "I want a verbal answer, _____. Just a yes or no will work."

"Y-Yes. Please."

"Okay. Here, just try to sit for now, you don't need to stay on your knees."

With careful assistance from Null, he helps you turn over and shift to sit down properly on the bed. You cringe slightly at the slickness between your legs, especially as it rapidly cools now that the heat of your shared intimacy is diminishing. You tremble as you pull your legs closer, your arms crossed over your stomach. You can't bring yourself to look away from your lap, keeping your head down and letting your tears drop down onto your legs.

Your already unstable breathing hitches when Null adjusts himself to sit down just in front of you, his legs crossed. He'd tugged a section of the sheets over his lap for the time being – they're already in need of washing, anyway – and leans over to do the same with you, draping some of it over your shoulders. It helps somewhat alleviate what feels like a bone-deep chill at this point, at least.

"How about now? Can I still touch you?"

You try to nod, but upon remembering what he said before, you take a second to swallow before muttering an affirmative. Null reaches to take one of your shaking hands in his, while the other slowly cups the side of your face, regardless of how much it's angled down and away from him.

"It's okay. I'm right here."

Sniffling, you try to apologize again, but he stops you once more. "You're okay, doll. I'm not mad at you for using the safeword. Actually, I appreciate that you used it."

"But I— I ruined—"

"You didn't ruin anything. I'm not mad at you for wanting to stop, so it's okay. We're okay."

Despite his attempt to comfort, the overwhelming guilt that stubbornly clings to your thoughts feels impossible to rid of. You hiccup again, choking on another sob. Null pulls both his hands back, and before you can beg for them back, desperately needing the assurance that he doesn't hate you for stopping, he's already wrapping them around you as best as he can from this position to tug you closer. Given he's more adjusted to your height for the time being, you're able to lean your head against his exposed chest, the gentle hums of his inner mechanisms now louder than ever from right here. You feel the static of his screen nuzzle against your head from above, and with his warmth surrounding you once more, your trembles slowly start to ease away, finally.

You can almost breathe normally, for the first time in...a while.

"You did everything right, _____. You used the safeword exactly as you're supposed to." He gently mutters through the faint compression and static in his voice.

"I just— I-I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong, I just—"

You hiccup again, softly, so Null quietly hushes you once more, one of his hands moving to press his palm to the back of your neck. Your breath hitches again in an audible gasp, causing him to freeze, yet when one of your hands shifts to rest against his leg, he thankfully refrains from pulling away when that's far from what you want right now. "Still, something was wrong and you let me know. That's all I ask for, darling." He assures.

The two of you sit like this in silence for a while, the only sounds cutting through being Null's mechanisms humming and the occasional sniffle from you. Your tears have slowed, thankfully, though you're not sure if it's because you've calmed down or because you've cried yourself out – your emotions are a complete mess right now. Slowly, you sense something long and thin curl around you from behind, and can only guess that it's his plug-in cord trying to assist with comforting you.

You don't even remember him untying it – did it release itself at some point after you used the safeword? Or were you so...caught up with your own problem that you truly just never noticed? You decide to hope it's the former.

"...Talk to me?" The lilt in Null's voice makes his words sound more like a suggestion than one of his usual demands. You hum briefly, prompting him to continue, "Tell me what you're feeling."

"...Guilty, I guess." Your voice comes out weakly. "I'm just... I know I shouldn't feel bad for stopping, but I don't— I don't know why I started feeling like something was wrong."

"Regardless, you still let me know, so just...understand that I appreciate it. I'm not interested in continuing if you're not willing to."

"...You're not upset with me?"

Null sighs a little, and your thoughts are fortunately clear enough now that you're able to recognize it's not a sigh of irritation or exhaustion. The hand at the back of your neck shifts just slightly, and you feel his thumb rub back and forth for a moment. "...Never with you."

His tone is so delicate that you almost feel lightheaded.

After a pause to compose yourself, you comment, "I get on your nerves a lot, though. Sometimes on purpose, but..."

"While that's true, now isn't one of those times. And it's good to hear you're starting to get a bit snarky again – you mean to tell me you irritate me on purpose sometimes?"

"...You like it." You smile, even though you're still sniffling.

"I love it. Just like I love you. Don't forget that."

Your amusement pauses, slightly taken aback by how easily he says that. A small lump quietly builds in your throat, but you swallow it down, feeling a blossoming of warmth inside you that makes your heart stutter. "...I love you too." You mutter into the casing of his chest.

"Good. Feel like cleaning up yet?"

You hum an affirmative, however right as you try to pull away and sit up, Null's already moving his hands again, with one to your backside and the other slipping under your legs. Suddenly, you're lifted from the mattress, forcing an embarrassing squeak out of you as you scramble to grab hold of his shoulders. "Wait, Tenna—"

"Nope, no arguing on this, _____."

"I can walk just fine!" You're laughing anyway.

As you finally will yourself to glance up at his screen, you're comforted by the light pink across his display, as well as the cheeky smirk he gives you before leaning down to briefly nuzzle against your head. "That's too bad, you don't need to be walking around on your own right now when I can do this. Now c'mon,"

With that, Null shuffles off the bed with you in his arms, carrying you away to the bathroom. While you're still mildly wary in regards to tonight's turn of events, you're already feeling much better about it all, thanks to him, and judging by what's to come, he only plans to continue doing so until the heavy weight lingering in your chest is gone.

It's only expected that all the teasing Null's been pulling on you today would lead to this. For some reason, he's been acting insatiable, getting extra handsy with you even onstage, verbally poking at you with jokes that you can recognize as flirtatious in nature, while coming off as just playful to anyone else, and even leaning close to you to make sure you really understand his intentions with you, away from any eavesdropping.

"Just wait until we're home."

If there's one thing Null excels at, it's making good on his word, no matter what.

What you aren't expecting is just how cruelly he decides to treat you tonight. You don't think you'd been intentionally provoking him, and yet with the way his teasing continues to be so unrelenting, it almost feels as though you'd done something to drive him so crazy on purpose.

Null has you sprawled open for him on your shared bed, having already toyed with you to the point that you're involuntarily shaking under his touch, yet you haven't finished once. He purposely brings you to the edge, only to pause right as you're about to tip over – again and again, and you know it's to elicit the pathetic noises that come out of your throat against your will.

It's embarrassing for you, just the way he likes it.

He's agonizingly slow as he pushes his cock inside you, small and shallow bucks of his hips that do nothing but keep you trembling and losing your mind for him. You choke on your own breath as you plead once more, "T-Tenna, please, c'mon—"

"Now now, doll, I'm gonna need you to hold out for me." Gone is his usual display for the time being, with only a wicked grin stretched across his dark screen. Despite that, you can feel the heat emanating from it as he leans down to you, adding, "I want to see exactly how much you can take tonight. How much you can entertain me for a change, before it's all just too— much—"

Null emphasizes his point with a few harsh thrusts into your core, openly chuckling at the sound of your startled moans. You're panting at this rate, the suffocating heat of it all and the tight string in your lower stomach coiling further and further causing you to hiccup, your vision beginning to blur at the edges.

You grit your teeth. "Please," You gasp out, "Please, Tenna, I wanna— wanna—"

"Keep begging for me all pretty like that." As he tells you this, you feel his plug-in cord wrap itself around one of your ankles, forcibly tugging your leg out to spread you even further for him. "I could watch you beg me to let you cum for ages."

"Fuck, please— I‐I can't— can't do this much longer—"

"Yes you can."

Instinctively, you sniffle, and as you clench your eyes shut, you faintly feel a couple tears slip down the sides of your face. He's being so mean tonight, but coupled with the overwhelming spiral of pleasure he's practically keeping you trapped in, it's downright addicting, if not maddening.

You feel the hands on you clutch at your flesh briefly, before suddenly loosening. Your eyes fly open upon realizing you'd shut them, and as your teary and panicked gaze darts back to Null, about to apologize for looking away from him, you pause when you see his screen is completely dark now, his movements falling still.

...He's not overwhelming himself to the point of overheating his internal system, is he?

Just as you're about to question him as best as you can through your trembling breaths, you pick up the sound of faint static emitting from his speakers as he mutters, "...Commercial."

Hearing that word sobers you in an instant. Frankly, you're a bit confused what has him stopping so suddenly, after being so worked up just moments ago, but given he's using the safeword – for the first time, no less – you push aside your own feelings for now to focus on him. "O-Okay. That's okay, we can stop."

Null doesn't say any more, carefully withdrawing himself from you and releasing your legs to let you settle into a more comfortable position on the mattress. As you push yourself to sit up, mindlessly wiping away the tear tracks on your face, you notice how he's seated on his knees, his screen angled down to his hands as he holds them up, like he'd gotten something on them.

Carefully, you reach out, though you pause just as your fingers are about to touch his. "...Is this okay?"

He doesn't move at all. Not away from you, but not towards you either. "...Do what you want."

"This is about you right now, Tenna. Are you okay with me touching you?"

"...I..." The static in his voice grows louder, making his next words a bit of a strain to hear. "...I don't know..."

Slowly, you pull your hand back, and that's enough for his head to lift all of a sudden, seemingly taken aback by this. He just barely reaches out with one hand, before quickly retracting it. He stammers, "Wait, w-wait—"

"I'm not going anywhere, don't worry. Don't push yourself if you don't wanna touch right now." You're quick to assure him. That gets him to relax, enough for his tense shoulders to drop. You continue, "But just...talk to me. Please. You seem upset about something."

There's a stretch of silence as Null seems to just...stare at you – it's hard to tell, given you're looking at the faint reflection of yourself in his blank screen. Eventually though, he lowers his head again, focusing once more on his hands. He still holds them out as if they'd been stained.

"...You started crying, and I just..." His words trail off. Just as you're about to say something, he starts again, "You started crying, and I... It got in my head, o-or something, that I was...hurting you. Or I'd gone too far with all this and upset you. I— I don't—..."

When he falls quiet, aside from the constant staticky compression emitting from his speakers, you decide to carefully assure him, "It's okay, Tenna. The tears weren't because you'd hurt or upset me. I was still enjoying everything, I promise."

For a moment, you're not sure if he's listening to you. As you're thinking of what else to say, your thoughts suddenly freeze when you notice the faint glow of liquid static beginning to build in the bottom corners between Null's screen and frame. He doesn't tremble, doesn't take in any shaky breaths, however he does angle his head even lower in a vain attempt to hide his oncoming tears.

"Hey, hey," Carefully, you scoot closer, still making sure not to touch him, "Tenna, it— It's okay, I promise. I'm sorry my crying scared you, but I'm okay, see? You didn't do anything wrong. And I'm really glad you used the safeword, so...thank you. Really. I want you to enjoy what we're doing too, so I appreciate that you let me know you wanted to stop."

One tear drops, then two, and slowly, almost hesitantly, Null raises his head just enough for you to see his dark screen again, the bottom corners of his frame now stained with luminous tear tracks. You watch him carefully, unsure what all he's thinking, but you know for certain that you're not going anywhere until he's okay again.

It's startling to see someone like Null in such a state, but...in a way, it just shows how much he seems to trust you, given he hasn't deflected like he tends to do. And you're not about to risk losing that trust.

As the glow of his tear tracks begin to fade, Null slowly reaches to you again. You're about to offer your hand for him to take, if he'd like, however you're taken aback when he reaches up to cup the side of your face in his palm. He just barely twitches upon doing so, but when you don't pull away – even cautiously leaning into his touch – he seems to relax somewhat, enough to run his thumb just under your eye. The mechanisms of his gloveless hand is harsh, the small spaces between its casing rough and easily able to pinch you if he's not careful, but to you...

They're warm. Delicate, even, despite everything about them saying otherwise.

"...Talk to me?" You prompt, gently.

Null remains quiet for a moment, until eventually he mutters through the lingering static compressing his voice, "...I usually enjoy getting reactions like that out of you. I just—... I suppose I've been...overthinking too much lately, and I— I don't..." Finally, finally he manages to take in a shaky breath of air – even if unnecessary for him – and releases it slowly. "...I don't want you to get sick of me. I don't mean to be so...mean to you, but I just— I got...scared that I was pushing you too far. That I was finally being too much for you."

"You weren't. I promise." As if to test the waters, you raise your hand to press it over his. Null visibly tenses in response, but seems to relax seconds after. "I would tell you or call you out if you were going too far. I'm familiar with your behavior by now, so I know you've just been very...teasing today. I was having fun with it, though."

Null lets out another breath after a pause. The static in his voice is much more faded this time around, and you're able to hear the relief clearly in his tone. "...Good. Good."

"Thank you for telling me, by the way. I know you're not the best at talking about feelings and all that—"

"Hey,"

You giggle, but continue, "—but I appreciate you letting me know what's wrong. I promise I'm okay, Tenna."

There's another stretch of silence where Null seems to watch you, even more so now that touch has been reestablished. Finally, he wills himself to bring his screen back to life, a quiet blink followed by his face slowly manifesting before you. You can't help but smile, even as he appears to act almost unsure and sheepish under your gaze. "There you are." You murmur fondly.

His lips purse slightly, angling his screen off to the side for just a moment before turning back to you. "...You're not upset with me?"

"Of course not. You wanted to stop, so we stopped."

Null slowly nods, clearly still struggling to come to terms with how tonight's panned out. In an effort to lighten the mood, now that he's perked up enough to turn his screen back on, you offer, "Why don't we clean up and get something to eat? Your choice for tonight's dinner."

That gets him to visibly contemplate, until he ultimately concedes, albeit hesitantly. "...Very well, then."

You eye him curiously.

Just as he tries to slip his hand from where it's pressed to your cheek, you tighten your hold on it, causing him to pause as his upper frame rises. You sit up, trying to lean up to him. "Is it alright if I kiss you?"

Null suddenly sucks in a small breath, taken aback. A staticky layer of pink appears across his display, and as his shoulders relax again, he seems to watch you for another moment, before leaning down and kissing you himself. It's your turn to gasp, though you quickly let out a muffled giggle against his mouth, earning you a smile pressed into yours.

He barely gets to pull away before you say, "I love you."

"...I love you too."

Your smile widens, only for you to burst into another fit of laughter upon seeing the pink on his screen brighten. He clears his throat as he sits up, yet he doesn't make another attempt at pulling his hand away from you, or even deflect from the fond smile he gives you.

As the two of you eventually shift to stand and make your way to the bathroom, his hand in yours, you make a mental note of making sure to further discuss about these thoughts of his, given how bad they seemed to have accumulated. But for now, you focus on what you plan to do to pamper him, as well as help him decide on tonight's dinner.

Your eyes dart over to whoever just spoke to you, and you're greeted with the Pippins running the bar for the time being. You hum thoughtfully, stepping over to one of the bar stools. "Hm, something like that."

"He's always got a lot for you to do, doesn't he?" They obviously tease. "Have you ever tried kicking back and relaxing for once?"

You momentarily glance elsewhere as you think. "...Not since I started coming here, I suppose."

"No need to run yourself ragged just for him, y'know. That's what this bar is for, after all! Why don't you try out a drink or two?"

Honestly, you don't see why you shouldn't. Just as you glance up at the menu, however, they pipe up again, "Oh, and just a heads-up, anything you order will be deducted from your points."

That gets a chuckle out of you. "Well, I think I've accumulated plenty of those lately."

With that settled, you finally decide to take a seat at the nearest stool. It thankfully spins smoothly so you can adjust yourself to your liking, and once you're comfortable, you peek back at the menu and decide on your drink. The Pippins gets to work, trying to make light conversation in the meantime. "Y'know, a while back, before you got here, the bar was mostly just for show – no drinks or nothing! Everything came from the vending machines, since Mr. Tenna didn't want us touchin' the points."

"I'm guessing he's fine with it now, then?"

"Hah, barely. He put in some strict regulations, but at least the bar actually has a purpose now."

You snicker a little; yea, that sounds about right for him.

Just as they finish up your drink and set it on the counter before you, you hear a familiar voice behind you chime in, "Evening, _____!"

Upon glancing over your shoulder, you're met with the weather couple, Elnina and Lanino. By now, you're plenty familiar with them, so you tilt your head in a small greeting of your own. "Hey guys. Here for a drink too?"

"You know it!" Elnina smiles while she takes the seat next to you. "Can't get any rain without quenching my thirst!"

"Surely there's a better way to say that?" Lanino remarks, taking the stool on the other side of her in the meantime. Elnina turns her head to him, and you can only guess what kind of glare he just received, judging by the speed at which he shuts his mouth.

"Anyway!" She straightens up, turning back to you. "What brings you here tonight? We've never seen you try the bar before!"

"You're welcome." The Pippins across the counter suddenly interjects.

After casting a quick glance their way, you answer her, "Mm, just don't have as much energy as usual tonight, I suppose. I was trying to figure out what to do, since we still have one more round for Tenna's show, but I didn't wanna make myself tired in here, so... They called me over, basically. Told me to relax."

"Again, you're welcome."

You can't help chuckling a little at their remark.

For a while, you're able to make more light conversation between the bartender and couple, nursing your drink between your hands during the quiet moments and laughing when the couple inevitably starts bickering like usual. The Pippins across the counter refills your drink once it runs low, and you give them your thanks.

Just as you're starting to wonder how long it's been, or if the next round is going to start soon, you suddenly freeze at the sound of another, much more familiar voice behind the three of you. "All of you having fun?"

Something about his tone sends a shudder down your spine.

Still keeping your drink in your hands, you carefully spin your stool around to face Tenna, who seems to have adjusted his height to be able to fit in the green room. He stands with his arms crossed, a tight smile on his staticky screen, accompanied with a low furrow of his upper frame. His plug-in cord is untied and hangs out from behind his suitcoat, twitching almost irritably against the floor and even thumping with a small but sharp crack against the tiles every now and then, thanks to the metal ends.

Your attention turns over to the weather couple as they suddenly begin to stammer over each other, making up excuses that you can't really discern from one another. The Pippins behind the bar simply snickers, "C'mon, boss, we're just chatting. You don't want your contestants to sit back and relax for once?"

You glance back at Tenna, and while he tenses up even further in response to the obvious provocation, he seems to disregard their words, unfurling his arms to emphasize himself. "We only have one more round tonight, and I need them at their prime for this! They're more than welcome to relax, but the last thing they need is to sit here and hang out with— Wh-Why are you even running the bar to begin with?! I relegated this to the Shadowguys!"

"They called out sick."

"They can't do that! They can't have all called out sick, let alone call out at all!"

Raising one of his hands to the side of his head, Tenna groans as the others begin to snicker. "Look, the final round is about to start, so I need all of you in your places, NOW!"

Something about his choice of words makes Lanino pipe up. "But— We're not even in the script for—"

"You are now! So chop chop, get to it, you two!" He claps his hands together, clasping them tightly.

It's the couple's turn to groan, but they don't give any remark and hop off their stools to head to the stage to prepare for the final round. Upon checking over your shoulder again, you realize that the Pippins had fled at some point after Tenna was done getting on their case; at least they can't intentionally make the situation any worse now.

"And _____?"

You feel your body involuntarily tense. As you turn your head back to Tenna, you pause once more at the realization that...he shrunk again. He's a bit closer to your height now, if you had to guess, and the corner of his tight smile twitches. The thumping of his cord ceases, having wrapped itself around his ankle.

After what seems like hesitation on his part, he finally speaks up, his voice more quiet and...uncertain now. "...You were...having fun with them, weren't you...?"

Despite how you feel a bit verbally cornered right now, you answer honestly, "I was. I just wanted to relax a bit between rounds this time, so I could save my energy for your show."

"Save your—" Tenna straightens up, stepping closer. The furrow of his frame is gone, shooting upwards now. "Sweetheart, if you're low on energy, you should've told me! I-I can get you something to eat real quick! I got yogurt tubes that'll brighten you up again in no time!"

"No, no, it's okay." You giggle lightly, raising one of your hands to press to his chest now that he's so close to you. He seems to perk up at the physical touch, given how his lips purse into a wobbly line, and his once staticky screen dusts with a light pink.

Now that he seems a bit more relaxed – or less upset, at least – you decide to question, "So, what was all that about?"

"...What was what about?"

You tilt your head, breaking into a light smirk when he seems to fluster a little under your gaze. You clarify, "You don't usually get all snappy like that unless something upset you. Those two weren't even supposed to be on the show tonight until you decided that just a minute ago. So, talk to me. Did something happen?"

"...Well..." Tenna angles his screen away, pointedly looking down at the section of tiling just next to your stool. After a second, he lifts his head back up, yet still turned away enough to not look at your directly. "You were just...being awfully friendly with them, is all. Can't have them dragging you into their little schemes right under my nose!"

"Schemes, huh? About what, exactly?"

"Well— Th-That's what I'd like to know!"

You giggle lightly at his accusations, if you could even call them that. He stammers a bit incoherently in response to your amusement, ultimately shutting his mouth once you've caught your breath.

Leaning closer to him – promptly causing him to face you directly once more – you quietly say, "Relax. I wouldn't go behind your back like that. But if you wanted my attention on you, that's all you had to say."

"Huh—?"

"We're gonna be late at this rate, but you're not rushing me like the others. Your first question to me was if I was having fun with them, Tenna. You're not subtle about being jealous, but that's oka—"

"WH— I AM NOT JEALOUS!"

"Then why aren't we going onstage yet? You were in such a hurry a moment ago to get everyone else going, but not me."

"Th-That's—!"

By now, his screen is flushed with colored bars, and he pouts slightly when you giggle again. After he seems to realize you're teasing him, he takes a moment to compose himself, yet he still juts out his bottom lip. "...I wasn't jealous."

"Sure."

"I— Why do you sound like you don't believe me?"

"Because I don't."

That sends him into another stammering episode. It's hard not to take pity on him, even if just a little. As you giggle again, you lean back in your stool, taking Tenna out of his audible spiraling now that there's some distance between the two of you again.

"I wouldn't be upset with you if you were jealous, y'know."

That seems to get his attention. "...You wouldn't?"

You hum with a shake of your head. "I think it's cute. Well, maybe the part about you basically punishing your staff about it isn't very cute—"

Tenna winces a little at that.

"—but seeing you get all worked up like that was...silly, in a good way. You really want my attention on you, don't you? Enough to get all pouty?"

The colored bars across his screen that had been slowly fading suddenly brighten again, and he quietly clears his throat, shifting one of his hands to toy with the knot of his tie while the other slides behind his back. He smiles shakily. "Well— I-I am the host after all, it— It only makes sense that your attention stays on me! That, and— Well..."

Tenna shrinks again, just a little, and the corner of his mouth twitches. "...I am more entertaining than them, right?"

...Something in the way he questions this sobers you relatively quickly from the teasing you've been putting him through. With a much more certain smile of your own, you answer easily, "Of course you are, Tenna."

That seems to be the assurance he needs, given how his visibly forced smile becomes much more relaxed to match yours, as well as regaining some height to his stature. "Good! Good. Right. Of course I am! Just, ah, wanted to make sure, haha!"

You can't help chuckling a little; his lack of subtlety will never not be amusing to you.

After clearing his throat once more, Tenna relaxes his posture some, enough so he still carries the peppy charm he'll need for the stage. "Well! With that settled, are you ready to get the show started, _____?"

"Almost."

Tenna lets out an inquisitive hum as you turn to set your drink on the counter; you're not sure what else to do with it since the bartender is nowhere to be seen now. Once you're turned back to him, you beckon him closer, to which he complies with right away, despite his clear confusion. You're careful with grabbing his lapel, so as not to wrinkle it right before he's on camera, and Tenna briefly gasps right before you lean up enough to give him a small kiss.

You pull back to see the renewed flush of colored bars on his screen, and giggle almost breathlessly. "Just remember that I don't do that with anyone else, okay? You're cute when you're jealous, but don't forget that you're special to me."

Tenna's little act of breathing that he instinctively follows at all times wavers just slightly, catching in his throat, and his plug-in cord swishes across the floor loudly enough to make you burst into another fit of giggles. As he pulls himself together again, he gently nods his head. "Ah— Y-Yes, heard you loud and clear, sweetheart. But, uh, how about one more, just to make sure?"

You laugh harder, but comply with his wish anyway. The show is definitely going to start late by now, but you don't think Tenna seems to mind much.