#cheerio

'Ant' Tenna/Reader --- AO3

Summary: Tenna’s size-shifting system glitches, trapping him smaller than he’s ever been before—shrunk down even beyond his usual low. The Reader can’t help but get a little touchy. Tenna doesn’t mind the closeness much. He DOES mind when their moment gets interrupted though...

(Have this crumb since i'll be taking a break from working on Dial T for Tenna!)

-----

“DON’T LAUGH AT ME!” Tenna shrieked, planting his hands on his hips in a desperate attempt to look intimidating—though the effect was more adorable than anything else, given he currently had the height of a perfume bottle.

Why was Tenna this small, you ask?

You glanced down at him, still snickering under your breath at his earlier explanation. Something about a glitch in his size-changing systems, which caused him to abruptly shut down. When he came to, he found a very confused technician hovering over his tiny form, trying to figure out how to solve the problem.

Now here he was—smaller than you’d ever seen him. Way smaller than his usual limited "small mode," even. He could probably fit in your palm, which was a thought that was quickly becoming dangerously tempting.

He didn’t usually stay in his small form for long, and even when he did, you rarely had time to actually look at him, let alone touch him.

So naturally, the urge to pick him up and fluster the hell out of him was almost too strong to resist.

Your gaze swept over his tiny, puffed-up posture. He was still huffing like he had something to prove—so, gently, you reached out and plucked him up by the scruff of his little red blazer. His body stiffened immediately, arms and legs flailing for balance.

“WOAH THERE! You’re gonna give me motion sickness…!” he grumbled, clearly trying to sound unbothered.

But you weren’t buying it. His screen had gone a soft, rosy pink, and his antennas were twitching in a stuttered rhythm that practically screamed flustered. You slowly settled him into the center of your palm, leaning back with your knees bent, one hand braced behind you, the other holding him steady.

“Aw…” you cooed, your voice dripping with playful mockery. “Look at you! You’re so cute when you’re small like this.”

You nudged his tiny shoulder with your finger. “I mean, you’re always cute—but this? This is next level.”

His screen darkened to a deeper pink, and he sharply turned his head away from you, antennas drooping.

“H-Hahaa… You really think so?” he asked, voice cracking ever so slightly from a mix of embarrassment and bashful disbelief.

“‘Course I do,” you replied, tilting his screen gently back toward you with the tip of your finger. Your smile widened as you moved on to lightly stroke the top of his head. “Hmm… You could totally fit in my pocket like this. Wouldn’t that be cute? Carrying you around all day like one of those purse dogs.”

He made a strangled little noise.

You leaned in just a little closer, smirk growing. “I could even call you my pet,” you added with a teasing lilt, continuing to pet him with deliberate slowness.

Tenna’s head dropped back dramatically, antennas trembling, screen now flushed pink. You couldn’t help the grin that spread across your face when you heard the long, involuntary whine that slipped out of him.

“You’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you?” you purred, shifting your hand to fully cup his tiny frame. Your thumb pressed gently against the front of his blazer while your other fingers curled beneath him for support.

His little hands gripped your thumb tightly, like it was the only thing keeping him from mentally combusting.

You ran your thumb along the edge of his blazer, brushing over the little gold trim, and watched as he tensed up, mouth opening to say something—only to produce a breathy whimper instead. That made you grin.

Your index finger came up to gently stroke the side of his CRT head, tracing along the sharp curve of it like you were examining something precious in a museum. A wave of pink washed over his face again. He jolted at the touch.

Then, slowly, you moved to his antennas.

The moment your fingers touched them, his whole body jolted like you’d hit a pressure point.

“N-Nonono—waitwaitwait—!!!” he squeaked, his screen going from pink to deep red.

“Oh?” you said innocently, already pinching the base of one between your fingers and giving it a gentle, slow stroke upward. The antenna flicked, spasming in response. Tenna choked on air.

Your other hand came up to stabilize him, cupping his back like he was something fragile—because right now, he was. With both hands surrounding him now, you lazily stroked along both antennas, back and forth, watching how he twitched and shivered with every movement.

“I didn’t know these were so sensitive…” you said with a teasing pout.

His head fell forward against your thumb, his grip tightening again. His legs had curled up slightly from the sheer flustered tension rattling through him.

“I-I’m gonna implode.” he whined into your hand, his internal fans about to go into overdrive.

You laughed under your breath, genuinely amused now. “You’re way too easy to mess with like this.” you said softly, tapping the top of his head with your finger, then gently running it down to his back and along the curve of his tiny spine. 

Tenna shivered.

You felt it under your touch—the way his frame trembled like a live wire. He curled tighter into your palm, gripping your thumb like it was anchoring him to the mortal plane.

You leaned in closer, your voice low and warm. “Are you always this responsive?” you whispered. “Or is it just me?”

“Y-You…” he rasped, stuttering halfway through the word. “You’re doing this on purpose.”

“Obviously,” you grinned. “You’re fun to play with like this.”

You dragged your thumb under his screen, lifting it slightly so he had to look at you—his blushing screen fully lit. He looked like he was seconds away from combusting.

And that was before your fingers went back to his antennas.

This time you didn’t just stroke them. You played with them—one finger circling the tip of one while your other hand gently tugged at the base of the other, just enough to make him squirm. His breath hitched hard, his body jerking in your grip like you'd flipped some internal switch.

“Y-YOU—! Hnnnh… th-that’s—nghh—too much—”

You chuckled. “Sensitive and dramatic. Classic Tenna.”

“Th-This is harassment.” he whined, voice high and trembling, his little frame practically vibrating in your hands.

“And yet…” you purred, watching him melt further into your palm, “you haven’t told me to stop.”

He opened his mouth to retort, but all that came out was a breathy whimper. His head drooped forward against your thumb again, like holding himself up was just too much work now.

You cradled him a little closer to your chest, letting his tiny frame rest against your collarbone. “You okay there, hotshot?” you murmured, brushing your fingers down his back again, lighter this time, more soothing.

Tenna didn’t respond right away. His antennas were still twitching, and his screen flickered once, twice, before finally settling into a soft, glowing pink.

“…You’re evil.” he mumbled against your skin, muffled and pouty.

You laughed, wrapping your fingers gently around him like a protective shell. “Maybe,” you whispered. “But you like it.”

He groaned—long, dramatic, and muffled into your collar. He didn’t deny it.

And just as you opened your mouth to tease him again—

“Mr. Tenna? I finally figured out how to—”

The office door creaked open.

You both froze.

Standing in the doorway was the very same technician who had probably spent the last two hours figuring out how to solve the glitch, proudly holding a manual in one hand and mid-sentence—until he caught sight of you.

More specifically, you sitting comfortably on the couch in Tenna’s office… holding a palm-sized, twitching, visibly disheveled Tenna against your chest.

There was a very long, very awkward silence.

The technician’s eyebrows rose slowly.

“…Oooooookay,” he said, blinking. “Should I… come back later or…?”

You bit back a snicker, but it still escaped through your nose as you looked down at the flustered mess in your hand. Tenna’s antennas were trembling like dying leaves. His screen had gone red. Not pink. Full, mortified red.

You gave him one last affectionate pet on the top of his head before gently lowering him to the carpet.

“Nah,” you said with a grin. “He’s good to go now.”

Tenna stood wobbily, adjusting his tiny blazer with a sulking sort of dignity. He didn’t look at you. Or the technician. Or anything, really. His antennas were curled downward like a cat’s ears after being caught doing something shameful.

“…YUP,” he muttered, defeated. “Fully ready. Nothing wrong here. Ha ha...”

He turned stiffly and stomped toward the technician, who held the door open in silence.

As they exited, you heard Tenna hiss, “I was clearly in the middle of something!”

“I-I’m sorry, sir! I didn’t realize you were—uh—you know—”

“If this happens again, I’m docking your pay.”

“…Understood.”

The door shut.

-----

Happy Bday @di-42 and @clockworkcapt

Tim: I'm thinking outside of the box!

and author is like 'omg anakin didn't trust obi-wan enough to tell him' and obi-wan is all sad and disappointed in anakin and i just wanna say this

we all remember chancellor palpatine's role in anakin's life, right???

like

found this absolute gem (derogatory) in the wookieepedia

anakin's twelve in this.

twelve.

i mean-

palpatine has been filling anakin's ears since he was nine.

i think that he says something that anakin wants to hear or agrees with - and then twists it to something else. and he does this for thirteen years straight.

did something wrong? didn't tell kenobi because you're worried he'll scold you? don't worry, child, I'll never scold you for anything. you can come to me whenever you want, tell me whatever you want.

feeling angry? the jedi say to let go? well, yes, you're young, it can be hard to let go of feelings this quick. it's not wrong if it takes you a few days - a few weeks - a few years to let go.

kenobi went on a mission and didn't tell you? i think he should've. well yes, the council told him not to, but if he had told you, how would the council have known? i think he didn't tell you because he didn't want to tell you.

you think he trusts you? you think they all trust you?

they don't.

and if they don't trust you, should you trust them?

let me give you an example.

suppose you're going to the gym everyday with your friend A. you're eating healthy, and all that jazz. it's been two weeks and your friend B drags you to the mall. she wants you both to eat out.

i'm going to the gym, you tell B. i can't eat out.

well, you haven't been eating out for two days, right? B smiles. what's one cheat day?

she's right, you think. i've been eating healthy for two weeks - what's one day?

and then it happens again four days later. then again. then again.

and suddenly you realise that you're eating out four days a week and your meal plan's gone to hell.

because not eating out takes actual effort - you need to control yourself. and nothing's wrong with losing that control once or twice. but when there's a person right there, nudging you in the other way, making some pretty valid points, it's easier to give in and listen to them.

[you can't say that anakin shouldn't have listened to palpatine, he should have controlled himself nonetheless. i'd like to reiterate that he was nine.]

i think that even when he found out that palpatine was sidious, anakin didn't realise exactly how much he had been manipulated by him. he still genuinely thought that most of the "friendly advice" that palpatine had given him had been exactly that, friendly advice. he listens to palpatine because he's been doing that for the past thirteen years. of course the chancellor knows best.

and after mustafar, when palpatine tells him that he killed padme in his rage - he thinks himself too far gone. he regrets ever turning, but who is he supposed to go back to? obi-wan? his brother the man he just tried to kill? he's done so many heinous things. he can't be redeemed.

and in any case, he doesn't deserve redemption.

i think anakin realises the extent of palpatine's manipulation when he tries to turn luke in return of the jedi.

when palpatine tells luke, replace your father. take your place beside me.

that's when anakin realises just how long he's been manipulated by this man - like how he is trying to manipulate luke. when he realises that everything he's done has been on the whims of the chancellor, sees that he is redeemable. when he finally finds someone to go back to - in his son and in his daughter.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/73427096/chapters/191407451