Out of their Element

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 20
Evie

Sometimes it’s hard to even remember there’s a whole other world outside of Aiden and me. I’ve been stuck with only one other person for so many days now that I consistently lose count. I like him, thankfully. I like him a lot. He’s my anchor, my comfort blanket. But it’s not until this moment that I realize he’s been my everything.

I reflexively cower at the sound of another voice. Somehow every time we’ve gone outside, we’ve been lucky and not run into anyone - at least, not when I was out in the open like this. The only other person I’ve physically seen since shrinking was someone who might have killed or tortured me if he had his way. The memory floods my system and I start trembling.

I can’t see her yet, but I’m starting to sense vibrations through the ground, the rhythmic thumping of approaching footsteps. This is clearly someone who knows Aiden since she called out his name, but right now he’s not reacting with recognition. He’s just staring at me, having gone very still with shock.

I need to hide.

If we had responded right away, maybe I could have made a dash for his pocket - he’s lying down so he probably could have scooped me right in without it looking suspicious. But we’ve been hesitating too long. So instead I finally leap into action and do the only thing I can think of. I dart right under the edge of the picnic blanket.

“Aiden?” The girl says again, and she’s closer now. This time he reacts. I’d ducked under where the fabric had buckled, a little cavern half held up by grass. The blanket roof quakes as the giant above me sits up.

“Oh, hey Taylor! How’s it going?”

“Not bad! I work nearby and was headed home. It’s been a while, how’ve you been?”

They’re so loud. I find myself holding my hands against my ears, trembling as I try to process what’s happening. He’s just chatting casually with a friend… Everything’s fine… I slowly get used to the volume as they talk, eventually pulling my hands away again. I didn’t realize how much Aiden has been tempering the intensity of his voice when he’s with me. It’s probably similar to how it’s become second nature for me to project my own voice more than I used to.

Gradually I calm back down as I listen to the nearby titans talk. This is an old classmate of his - I find out that they used to have an evening class together last semester. She must be a PhD student since she mentions the thesis she’s working on. I start feeling a little awkward about listening in on their conversation like this… I stare at the ground and begin idly messing with bits of dead grass and dirt, some of the grains more like pebbles to me.

I can tell Aiden’s trying to evade this and keep the conversation as short as possible. This makes me feel even more uncomfortable, and I wish I could tell him to take his time, I can wait. I haven’t caught a glimpse of her, but she certainly sounds really nice and easy to talk to… I wish…

I wish I wasn’t down here. I wish I was normal. I want to jump in, say hi, have him introduce us. Chat for a while in the sunshine. Instead I’m sitting here in the dark. In the dirt.

A couple of minutes into the conversation, I let out a quiet sigh as I reposition myself, going from crouching to sitting. I glance up as I do so and almost let out a yelp of surprise. There’s movement in the grass. A second later I see the outline of some kind of animal. It’s about the size of a small dog… but it has too many legs. I catch the shape of its head and realize it’s an ant.

I hold very still, distracted from the booming conversation in the sky by this creature that’s even smaller than I am. It meanders vaguely in my direction, like a lobster looking for algae at the bottom of the sea. I’m fascinated by the way it behaves, the erratic movements as it circumvents blades of grass. It looks completely unbothered by its place in the world, not even capable of lamenting how tiny it is. I find myself smiling at it.

“So what’s your thesis about?” I say softly, chuckling to myself. For a moment I think the ant might be reacting to the sound I made as it pivots towards me, antennae wiggling furiously. Can ants even hear? Maybe I shouldn’t find out. I keep my mouth shut.

Eventually it wanders off to the side, but with a growing sense of unease I notice it’s not alone. Two more appear, moving closer to me this time, and then there’s a fourth one. These aren’t fire ants, I think they’re carpenter ants but… can they still bite? I start carefully backing away, and they don’t quite give chase but still fill in the gap that I’d left behind. Nervously I turn and crawl deeper under the blanket, trying to find a safer spot. The fabric shifts as I push against it, creating a longer cave, until finally it collapses behind me and I’m left in a little pocket of space. At least this blocks off the ants. But now I’m really in the dark. Blades of grass press in on me from every direction, poking at my face. I’m feeling increasingly claustrophobic.

Oh, thank god. Aiden’s conversation is wrapping up.

“Well, it was good to see you! Take care.”

“You too, Taylor, have a good one.”

I feel the thudding vibrations, now growing fainter over time as she walks away, and then I hear a sigh before a fervent plea, little more than a whisper that’s further muffled by the blanket.

“Evie? Where are you? I’m so scared of crushing you right now…”

Pushing upward on the heavy fabric, I get to my feet, loudly calling, “Here! I’m right here!”

I feel movement in the ceiling. For a second I desperately pray that I’m really not about to get crushed, but then suddenly I’m blinded by light and the blanket lifts right off of me as Aiden folds it back. When my vision clears, I realize with a panic that there are at least a dozen ants that are now gathered near me, moving in every direction.

“Pick me up, pick me up!” I yell, hopping and pressing into the wall of fabric that the giant’s still holding. His other hand comes down quickly, grabbing me between his fingers a bit less delicately than usual in his haste, and I catapult upwards.

“What’s wrong, are you okay?” Aiden asks breathlessly as he rights his hand out, letting me slide onto his palm.

I try to catch my breath, peering over the side of his hand, but the ants are now harder to make out in the grass. I look out past his shoulder, catching the shadow of the other giant, at this point much further away. Then I look up at the face of my friend, who looks tense and confused.

“Y-yes,” I finally stutter, “Thank you, I’m good. You were right about bugs being scarier now… But nothing bit me, everything’s fine.”

Aiden nods, glancing to the ground. He might not even be able to make out the ants in the grass from here. “Sorry that took so long,” he says, looking at me again, and then he winces at the state I’m in. “Next time we’ll have a better plan… so that you don’t have to crawl around on the ground.”

I look down at myself and realize I’m covered in dirt. “Oh wow, yeah, I need a bath!” I exclaim with a laugh, now able to see the humor in the situation. “And I barely got any exploring in first. I suck at this.”

As if he’s gotten permission from the fact that I’m making light of it, Aiden cracks a smile too. “Nah, this is how it’s supposed to happen. You’re becoming one with nature. We’ll be able to go camping together in no time.”

We decide to go home then, and I’m relieved to retreat into the comfort of his shirt pocket as we traverse back across campus. Once I got used to it, I’ve been finding the swaying of his gait weirdly relaxing. And we can still talk when I’m in here, quiet conversations that occasionally get interrupted by him clearing his throat, signaling we’re about to pass by other people.

At one point we run into another acquaintance of his, a guy this time, although they don’t say much outside of “Oh, hey!” before they move on. I don’t even catch the dude’s name. I just hold as still as I can through the encounter and find myself wishing again that I could meet this person too.

My thoughts drift back to when I was younger and had a fuller social life. I think of my old best friend Lynne and her oversized smile - she was the best baker and gave the best hugs. I haven’t deeply thought about her, or any of my former friends, in quite a while. The list of close friends I had was short, and most of them were from before I graduated high school. Before my mom was… no longer in the picture. Things were pretty different after that. Still, even just acquaintances like my classmates and coworkers, I miss being able to talk to them.

I start standing up within the pocket the way I always do once I hear the keys go into the lock, popping my head out as Aiden steps into the apartment. The air inside is actually a little cooler than the air outside, highlighting the changing of the seasons.

“Home sweet home,” I sigh as I hop from hand to desk.

I feel so tempted to go flop onto my bed after all of that excitement, but I thankfully remember how filthy I am first. I had tried to refrain from picking bits of dried grass out of my hair while I was still in the pocket, so that I didn’t leave too much of a mess. I instinctively grab my dress around the waist, desperate to clean it and myself, before I stop myself. Yikes, I’ve gotten so used to having a giant around that I almost just stripped naked while he’s still standing right here. I know we’re pretty comfortable around each other, but that would be wildly inappropriate.

“I’ll start making lunch while you wash up,” Aiden says brightly, and I’m not sure if he could tell what I was itching to do. “Paninis alright?”

“Yesss, paninis sound amazing,” I respond, grinning up at him and trying to casually let my arms hang loose again until he eventually leaves.

I start getting a bath ready, finally able to rip my clothes off now that I’m in the bathroom. I’m still having intrusive thoughts about how Aiden might have reacted if I’d suddenly started undressing, and it makes me blush furiously with embarrassment. It’s not like he’d be able to see much detail unless he got real close. But still…

After waiting for the water to warm I slip into the ceramic tub, and then shortly after I jump at the sound of Aiden’s voice nearby.

“Just a warning - I’m about to open the window, okay? Cover your ears.”

“Okay!” I yell back and follow his advice, though I still flinch at the thunderous crack of the window opening a second later. Sounds of the outdoors drift in - cars driving by, the ebb and flow of a warm breeze, distant voices of passerby a story below.

The heavy footsteps retreat and I sink deeper into the tub, feeling an intense warmth in my cheeks that has nothing to do with the bath. He’s built this bathroom with privacy in mind, and I trust that he’s not trying to peek in here anyway. But usually he doesn’t even come close to the desk when I’m bathing. Maybe he’s also getting a little too comfortable…

Armed with clean skin and a fresh new outfit, I happily come out to eat once the food’s ready. Aiden’s cut me a tiny triangle of grilled sandwich that he’s pressed as flat as he can - I can smell the fresh herbs, the shredded chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella… I feel really proud of him actually, and maybe a little proud of myself too. His cooking game has been on point lately and I’d like to think I had something to do with it. I still wish I could cook something for him, though. I don’t think I’ll ever not feel embarrassed about the fact that he needs to feed me like I’m his pet mouse.

We chat about his classes for a little bit as we eat, and as the conversation stalls my mind wanders to something I’ve had tucked away since this morning. “Hey, um…” I start hesitantly, “I don’t mean to pry. The girl at the park today… Taylor? Were the two of you close?"

I notice a narrowing of Aiden’s hazel eyes that he does when he looks a little perplexed. I suppose this feels out of left field. “You’re not prying. But nah, we weren’t that close. Super nice girl, she got along with everyone in that class. But we never really hung out outside of school.”

I feel a bit deflated. I try again.

“What about… um, I’m trying to remember where you’d sit in Biochem. It was always with this burlier guy, right?"

“Yes, you’re talking about Diego… Okay, that guy is one of my friends. We’ve known each other since we were kids.”

Feeling a bit more successful, I perk up and continue questioning, “What’s he like? Wait – how have you been friends for that long if you moved around so much?”

Aiden had taken another bite so he takes a second to swallow before he explains. “Our parents were friends, so I’d see him every summer when I’d visit my aunt in Arizona. We kept in touch pretty well and ended up coming to the same college. And then somehow this semester we figured out how to be in a class together despite us going for completely different careers - he goes to the nursing school here. He’s um… quite the character. I’ve known him forever so we butt heads a lot, but he’s a good guy.”

“Do you see him much outside of class?"

I’m starting to push this a little far. My giant friend tilts his head but still answers me, “A little bit, we get lunch pretty often. And he drags me to the gym every chance he gets.” His eyes narrow again as he adds, “I’m trying to figure out what you’re getting at… it looks like you have something on your mind?”

Right, okay, my barrage of questions isn’t very subtle.

“This morning, um…” I say and then sigh, “I think it just kinda hit me that you probably don’t see your friends as much as you used to.” The confession is heavy with remorse that I’m sure isn’t lost on him.

Aiden’s silent for a little bit, pausing in his eating and observing me intently with a small frown. “Please don’t worry about that,” he finally says gently, “I still see my friends. You remember, I’ve gone out to dinner with them before?”

“Yeah, like, twice…” I say, sounding more guilty by the second. “Just… please feel free to go out more than you do. I’ve got the fridge, I’ve got entertainment, I’d be fine staying on my own more often. I don’t want you to abandon your social life for my sake.”

“I… I appreciate it, Evie.” The corner of his mouth ticks up and he does that thing where he lowers his head just a bit to better meet my gaze. “But you’re my friend too, you know. I never mind spending time here with you, okay?”

Damn. His kind words never fail to make me blush.

I nod appreciatively and then swiftly find a way to change the subject. For today I forget about it all, and I manage not to think about old friends from a previous life. I have him… At least I have him.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Trust me Evie, Aiden saw what you were doing with your dress and it nearly gave him a heart attack.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo At least he managed to stay cool

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 21
Aiden

It’s been a few days since our eventful visit to the park, and while the adventure seemed to give Evie a little pep in her step at first, I can tell the pain behind her eyes is getting worse. It’s so subtle but it’s there. I see it in the way she blankly gazes out of the window, or how she’s losing interest in her studies, or her sluggishness when she’s cleaning her space. It’s getting to the point where I wonder if I need to sit her down to have a conversation about it. I’m hesitating because I’m not even sure she’s conscious of any issues herself, and every once in a while I wonder if I’m making the entire thing up. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable if I’m wrong, so I keep putting off talking to her.

School’s getting pretty busy anyways. Work’s increasingly hectic too as more and more students start showing up to my office hours, to the point that I feel like I’m teaching mini lessons for large groups outside of my usual teaching days. I try to stay ahead of my workload, knowing it’s going to get especially crazy in a few weeks as we approach final exam season.

After a particularly rough Wednesday where I finish my day way later than usual, I see a text from one of my friends as I’m about to head home, inviting me to dinner plans with a few other guys. I remember what Evie had told me about spending more time with my social circle… I wouldn’t have time to swing by the apartment first, but she should have enough lunch leftovers in the mini fridge to cover for tonight. Although that would mean her eating the same thing for lunch and dinner… I wonder if going out would be too selfish of me.

But then, the more I think about it, I don’t want to go out. Apparently when I’m feeling stressed, the selfish desire is to go home and see her… So that’s exactly what I do.

I can already feel the tension in my shoulders begin to evaporate the moment I step through the doorway and see Evie’s small figure over on the desk. She gets up from sitting in front of her phone, adorable smile at the ready.

“Did the presentation go okay?” she calls out once I’m close enough to hear.

I just want to scoop her up and bring her to the couch so I can hold her while we chat. But I keep myself in check - I only just got back, I should give her a second to transition from whatever she was doing.

“It went alright, I think,” I respond, stepping up to the table. “I’m just exhausted. Are you hungry?”

“I’m actually fine for now, I had a pretty big lunch,” she asserts. “Do you have a lot of studying to do tonight?”

I’m in the middle of pulling my wallet out of my pocket to retrieve my usual daily note. I still found a way to write a quick response between classes.

“I have a little bit to do but it can wait, I desperately need a break," I sigh. With my free hand I slowly use two fingers to walk my way across the surface of the desk towards my tiny friend. “I was kinda wanting to watch an episode of something…?” I say hopefully.

Evie laughs at my approach, matching the gait of my fingers to meet me halfway, then she playfully shoves at my hand to try and get it to flip over, which I immediately let her do. “You know I’m always down. Lead on!” she chirps, and then smoothly climbs aboard.

Yessss, I think to myself, another layer of stress melting away at the feeling of her body on my palm. I love how easily I can lift her right up… There’s just nothing like having a finger-sized friend to relax with.

Having been distracted by my precious little prize, I’d almost forgotten that I’m still holding the note with my other hand. I go to set it down into our paper mailbox, when I realize it’s already occupied.

“What’s this?” I ask, leaning in to take a closer look. Sitting in the box is a teeny tiny paper crane, only about half an inch in length.

“Oh yeah, I forgot!” Evie exclaims, holding tightly to my hand as I bend over and she goes along for the ride. “I tried origami today, I found a how-to video. I thought it could be fun to write notes inside.”

I put down my letter to delicately pick up this new creation. It’s so small… As I cup my hand, the paper bird tumbles down the length of my fingers before it comes to a stop. I hold it up to my face to try and make out the details. It’s a little on the bulky side just due to the thickness of the paper, but the folds are incredibly precise.

“That’s so cool, Evie,” I mutter, imagining her folding up this thing, in awe of the fact that to her the starting piece of paper must have still been sizable. “The only problem is I don’t think I could open this up without destroying it. I wouldn’t want to undo it anyway…”

I sense her eyes on me as I hold her at chest level and she lets out a chuckle. “I thought you’d say that. Don’t worry, I didn’t write anything in that one. I can make them bigger, that’s just the only square bit of paper I had.”

“Can I keep it?”

“Sure, knock yourself out.”

I carefully put this new adorable prize back down, letting it roll off my palm to the desk. I make a mental note to find a safe spot on my nightstand later to display it.

“Okay, let’s go veg out,” I say, straightening back up and smiling at my miniature passenger, and she eagerly nods in agreement.

Ever since a certain event I’d rather forget, I usually try to avoid putting Evie anywhere near my lap. Instead I deposit her right up on my shoulder, and she walks along the top of it with nimble, confident footsteps. I open up my laptop to power it on, making conversation with her as the computer boots up.

“So what have you been up to today? Other than learning a new origami talent?”

“I’m still trying to figure out the best way to make work gloves. I think I might need to re-learn how to crochet.”

“Hmm, not a bad idea. Need any more toothpicks or anything?”

“No, I’ve still got a few. I might need more sandpaper soon though?”

“Sure, I have some left. I’ll cut out more pieces for you after this.”

“Thanks, Aiden.”

The computer’s on now and I start navigating to the latest anime we’ve been tackling from our list, a lighthearted comedy where the main character’s trapped in a fantasy world. I feel Evie pad over to my neck and sit down right beside it, and I fight back the urge to shiver with pleasure. She keeps talking as I click.

“That woodworking forum has been inspiring though. I think I made a friend on it.” Her tone shifts a little lower. “Well, sort of. We talk most days in any case.”

I go very still. There was something about the way she said that, it’s setting off all sorts of alarm bells in my head. Something is slowly dawning on me.

“That’s great,” I say gently, “But… it’s not quite the same, is it? As seeing a friend in person?”

She leans her weight against my neck. She’s too close for me to see her but I can feel a subtle trembling, and she speaks so quietly that I wouldn’t be able to hear her if she wasn’t right below my ear.

“No.”

I close my eyes. Finally. This is it, I know it. I can tell by the strain in her voice. At long last I’m figuring out what’s been weighing on her so heavily. As soon as I have the thought it all seems so obvious.

I want to look her in the eye. I offer Evie my hand again, holding it right in front of where she’s sitting on my shoulder. “Can we talk about this?” I ask softly.

She doesn’t move right away, her whole body tensing up. I hear her take a deep, shuddering breath and I’m trying to be patient and let her climb on voluntarily. Finally, she slides forward, silently stepping onto my palm.

I bring her out in front of me and she avoids my gaze, her face a mask of calm. “It’s fine,” she says tightly, forcing a smile but still not quite looking at me. My jaw clenches at the sight. She’s closing right back up again.

“Hey, there’s no shame in admitting that you’re lonely,” I tell her, “It’s beyond understandable.”

She’s completely silent now, gazing off to the side. For whatever reason, she obviously has a lot of practice when it comes to hiding her true feelings. But she’s still not very good at it. It’s so clear to me that she was born with her heart on her sleeve, and she’s the most in her element when she isn’t weighed down by whatever pressure she’s putting on herself.

The quiet drags on and I’m beginning to feel frustrated. “C’mon, Evie, talk to me.”

“What’s the point of admitting it?” she says sharply, finally looking at me. “I can’t do anything about it anyway.”

I’m a little taken aback by the snappy tone that’s very out of character. But I keep my tongue in check and don’t miss a beat, not wanting to squander this opportunity. “Sure you can. We’ve got options. I know you didn’t have time to make friends here, but what about friends from before? Maybe we can at least set up a phone call?”

“I haven’t kept in touch with any of them. I haven’t been that close with anyone.” There’s a pain in her voice that’s unlike anything I’ve heard from her, and it hurts me to see it.

“What about that girl from when you were younger - the one who got you into anime? It sounded like you were really close with her, right?”

“I… God, I don’t even know if she’s a her anymore.”

I do a double take, not having expected this response. “Come again? You mean she’s trans?”

“Maybe? I don’t know, at one point she started talking to me about being confused about her gender. But I never really found out what came of that. My mom overheard us talking about it and… I haven’t seen her since. I had to change schools and everything.”

Yikes. I’ve gotten the impression that her mom was neglectful when Evie was a kid, but this is something else. “That’s… pretty extreme,” I say, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It was always like that. I’ve learned to deal with it. I’ll be fine, Aiden. You’ve had a long day, let’s just start the episode and forget about this. Please don’t worry about me.”

It’s true that this hasn’t started out as the relaxing evening I was hoping for. But I’m glad I decided to come home. I cup both hands around her, and with a new, very careful gesture, I brush my thumb against the side of her face.

“Of course I’m worried about you,” I insist earnestly, “Listen, I can’t be the only person you talk to for the rest of your life. Right?”

A tear spills down her cheek then, abruptly. She pulls away from my thumb and wipes at her face angrily, her movements stiff and jerky, before she lets out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried looking Lynne up on social media before with no luck, I’m not even sure that’s her… their name now. I haven’t seen them in ten years.”

My heart rate’s picking up. She seriously hasn’t had a friend in ten years? It’s not like she’s unapproachable. It’s not making any sense.

“No… no coworkers?” I attempt weakly.

“Aiden, I’ve got no one. Please. I don’t want to get into it. Please, t-trust that I’m okay. I’m still happy here. It’s fine.”

I can feel her shaking and now there’s fear in her eyes along with the pain. I don’t understand. But I finally decide to back off.

I’m silent for a few moments, desperately trying to think of a different way to help. And then an idea presents itself out of the gloom like someone trying to get my attention from behind. I consider it, turning it around in my mind, until I think it might actually be the right answer. I can only pray that Evie will be open to it.

“Okay…” I finally say. “Hear me out.”

[Olo]

Whatever idea Aiden has, I’m glad he seems to understand that he’s earned Evie’s trust and that even if she rejects his proposal she won’t think worse of him for it.

@littlest-lily said:

she playfully shoves at my hand to try and get it to flip over, which I immediately let her do.

Like training a dog to roll over.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Haha, I kinda love the idea of the bigger one being the trained pet! They do have quite the connection at this point~

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 22
Evie

God. How did he talk me into this?

I’m pacing along the edge of the ottoman, mechanically breathing as slow as I can. It’s not keeping my heart from practically vibrating from how fast it’s beating.

I hadn’t realized just how fragile my world feels. One misstep and everything could shatter…

I pace back and forth and back and forth, until there’s a sound coming from outside of the apartment that makes me stop in my tracks. Distant voices are echoing in the hallway, getting closer. One of them I recognize. The other one I don’t.

My stomach is twisting itself into a knot and my heart might very well explode. The jingle of keys, a sound that usually fills me with joy, might as well be a death knell. I’m all the more disoriented by the fact that I’m on the ottoman right now and not the desk as usual. The door clicks and starts opening and I hold my breath.

There she is. My new would-be friend.

And the most unexpected thought hits me. She’s so small.

Okay, that’s really dumb. Obviously she’s still massive, easily the size of a building to me. But as the two giants walk inside, I can’t help noticing that the top of the stranger’s head doesn’t even reach Aiden’s shoulder. She must be under five feet tall, quite petite to the average person. A couple of months ago I would have had to look down at her instead.

I catch sight of her face and it completely matches her delicate frame. She has deep green eyes that look so big, perhaps in part due to her smaller facial features. Freckles dust the space across her nose and below her eyes, faint yet still visible against her pale skin. Her strawberry-blonde hair is tied into a loose side braid that hangs over her shoulder with a ribbon tying it off. Despite her relatively nonthreatening appearance, the only other time I’ve seen a second person in the room since shrinking was Dr. Little, and I’m trembling–

“Evie?”

For a moment my attention is pulled away by Aiden’s voice when he steps towards me, smiling warmly as he takes the lead.

“I’d like you to meet my friend Moira,” he says, just a formality since he had already told me her name beforehand, and he slowly lowers himself to the floor by the ottoman. Even though he’s not touching me or anything, his proximity is helping my nerves to settle somewhat.

Moira follows and her eyes meet mine. If she feels any sort of shock at the sight of me, she hides it well, giving me a wide, friendly smile. She’s wearing a really cute spring floral dress, which she smoothes out before she descends onto her knees before me.

Even her voice is delicate, and she seems to intrinsically understand the need to not speak too loudly. “It’s so nice to meet you, Evie. Thanks for having me over.”

I swallow, hoping my own voice doesn’t fail me. It’s still tripping me out seeing another person like this. “It’s nice to meet you too.” Okay, good, I got it out. I might have sounded a little shaky, but I think I’m starting to calm down.

My new acquaintance seems to hesitate then, and with a quiet breath in I try to step up to the plate this time. I reach a hand out as if wanting to shake hers. She straightens up a bit but otherwise hardly flinches before her smile softens and she extends her hand to me, instinctively reaching out her index finger. I take it with a shy smile.

Holy crap… I’m actually taller than her finger. I’m so used to Aiden’s hands, and it’s strange to see one that’s quite a bit smaller - not to mention her skin’s a little softer and paler, and her nails are painted. I linger on this last part, tilting my head to take a look.

“That’s a nice color,” I remark, letting go of her finger and gesturing at the pearly dark blue, almost black hue of her fingernails.

“Oh, thanks!” she says, stretching her fingers out to look at her own hand for a second. “I know it doesn’t really match the season, but I was feeling a darker shade.”

“Aaaand it sounds like girl talk has already started,” Aiden says with a laugh. “I’ll let you two chat while I get dinner going.”

“See now, I’ve always thought Aiden would look good with a nice pastel color,” Moira says with a little smirk at the giant who’s now standing up. “What do you think, Evie, maybe a lavender?”

“Nope, nope, I’m outta here.” He’s still chuckling and I tentatively join in on the laughter, although I feel a new wave of anxiousness as I watch his figure retreat. This was part of the plan, I know he wanted to give us some time to talk, but being alone with a gigantic stranger is nerve-wracking all the same.

Moira’s gentle attention is back on me now. Her big green eyes with mile long lashes might have been unnerving if it wasn’t for the fact that this girl seems to have a resting happy face. “So Aiden tells me you’re getting him to watch Fruits Basket soon?”

Oh, good, she’s into anime too. I’ve always found a shared nerdy interest to be a great conversation starter. “Yeah, I’ve only ever watched the original when I was younger… I’ve never seen the full story so I’ve been wanting to check it out.”

“Ooo, I’ll make sure not to spoil the ending then! Which of the two guys are you rooting for?”

“Um… You know, I don’t usually like the angry types, but I remember the guy with the orange hair was growing on me…”

It’s a little awkward that we’re just kind of ignoring the fact that I’m three inches tall. But I’m honestly thankful for it. I wouldn’t have thought I could ever experience this again, simply discussing common interests with someone and seeing how our personalities mesh, nothing more. It’s nice to be momentarily unburdened by the size difference. I’m still uncomfortable with the whole thing, but the more I talk with this easygoing and charming girl, the more I loosen up.

I find out that Moira works at a local ceramic studio teaching pottery classes for kids and adults alike. She met Aiden through a Magic tournament three years ago, they bonded over some fantasy author I’ve never heard of, and then they started their own mini book club for a time. She loves animals, practices Tai Chi and plays guitar as a hobby. I feel like such a boring person in comparison, but she never acts that way, eagerly asking me questions about my interests in turn.

I’ll admit it. She’s so nice. If I was my normal size I would have already asked for her contact information and promised to take one of her pottery classes. But… can I really trust her the way I am now?

Distant sounds and smells drift over from the kitchen as we talk, but I haven’t realized how much time has passed until I notice the sound of approaching footsteps coming from behind me. An arm reaches out far over my head, holding a gigantic plate of food.

“Here you go,” says Aiden as he hands our guest her portion. “Sorry guys, that took a little longer than I thought it would.”

“No worries, this looks great,” Moira says, gratefully accepting the food from him, and then he makes another round trip to the kitchen to fetch the rest.

“‘Scuse me, Evie…” is my warning before large fingers appear from behind, slipping around my body to gently relocate me a few inches to the side. Aiden sets his own plate down on the ottoman then as we use it as a makeshift dining table.

For the first time, Moira seems to openly react to my stature. Her eyes go wide the moment I get picked up, and she’s blinking in shock even after the fact. At first I have no idea why and nervously shy backwards in confusion.

“I can’t believe how casually you just did that,” she finally says to Aiden, before bringing her attention back down to me, “Y-you’re okay being… manhandled like that?”

I guess I hadn’t really thought of it that way. “I’m fine!” I say quickly, “We kinda had to get used to that sort of thing. Just makes life a little easier.” I crane my neck back to look up at my friend sitting by my side, shooting him a smile. He looks a little embarrassed at having been called out for the spontaneous gesture, but he returns the smile anyway.

Moira looks from me to him and back again as she mutters, “No kidding…”

I walk up to Aiden’s plate, having noticed that my miniature dish and toothpick utensils are resting on the edge of it, and I take a seat to settle into the meal. It’s the homemade gnocchi I taught him how to make, along with his signature pesto sauce that I’ve had a couple of times now. I would have expected him to just cut up a few pieces for me, but it looks like he actually rolled out some tiny balls of dough before cooking them, as small as the peas that are also in the dish. They’re still bigger than softballs to me, but I appreciate the effort all the same.

“Damn, Aiden,” says Moira after she takes a bite, “I didn’t know you could cook like this.”

“I couldn’t,” he replies nonchalantly, then points down to the top of my head, “You’ve got this one to thank.” My ears go warm but I proudly sit a little taller.

Our guest covers her mouth to suppress a giggle. “Have you seen Ratatouille?”

“That’s what I said!” I exclaim.

Aiden laughs and hangs his head in mock defeat. “Alright, I get the message, I guess I need to see this movie.”

“Maybe Evie can finally get you to fill in the gaps on all the kids movies you missed out on during your sad, sad childhood.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to watch them!” he says with the feigned exasperation of a running joke. “But no one else ever wants to watch them with me.”

“I will absolutely watch them with you!” I pipe up, surprised at my own confidence as I hold my own in this conversation between titans, “Be careful what you wish for. I could marathon Disney movies all day long.”

Aiden lets out a breath of laughter and tells Moira, “Evie’s really big into animation too - clearly.” He taps me lightly on the shoulder, now directing his attention to me. “You should ask her what her hobby is.”

“Other than guitar?” I say, getting excited at the lead up.

“Yeah, I guess I have a lot of little side projects,” Moira admits, “I’m actually an animator too. If I can manage it, that’s my true long term goal, I’d love to do it for a living.”

“Whoa, seriously?” My eyes widen and I’m almost feeling a bit starstruck. “Do you do 2D or 3D?”

“Both. I’ve only started learning 3D modeling in the past year or so, but I’ve been definitely preferring working in three dimensions so it’s really become my focus. Sort of ties in with the pottery thing and the Etsy shop.”

“I didn’t know you had an online shop,” Aiden says with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah that’s a pretty recent thing too. I’ve been busy!”

I’m glad Moira and I had the chance to talk one-on-one since I otherwise would have probably been too timid to say much of anything as we eat, but instead the conversation is lively. It feels like fresh water for a withered section of my soul, slowly restoring a part of me that I didn’t realize was dying. We talk about her side hustles, then deviate into stories from past jobs, and Aiden and I pop in with tales of our own from when we were younger.

As is the norm, I don’t even manage to get through half of my plate before calling it quits. I used to feel bad about this, as if I was wasting massive amounts of food. But in reality the amounts that are left would barely register as a few crumbs to the average person.

The evening starts winding down and soon enough it’s time to draw this social event to a close. As our guest politely alludes to the fact that she should be headed home soon, I feel a warm pressure from behind. Aiden’s gently leaning the back of a finger against me, a surreptitious movement that’s actually a signal we had planned out ahead of time. I clench my hands into fists and take a quiet, steadying breath. Then, without quite looking at him, I nod.

“Before you head out, Mo…” he says slowly, “Would you want to try holding her?”

Moira starts, surprised at the suggestion. I knew I never could have made that request on my own, so I’m relying on the big guy to break the ice. Although now as I sit here with nothing more than a shy smile to offer, I feel a little ashamed for not having the courage to handle this myself.

“S-sure,” she says nervously and then she pointedly meets my gaze, appropriately bringing me into the discussion. “Is that alright with you, Evie?”

“Yeah!” I say with a slightly too-high tone of voice, getting to my feet. “It’s… I know it’s weird. But sometimes it’s, you know, unavoidable, so…”

“No, it makes sense,” she says with a half smile. “I’m just a little scared."

Scared? Of me? I take a step forward, tilting my head up at her, and joke, “I won’t bite, promise."

“No, it’s not that. Just…" She shifts uncomfortably as she keeps her eyes on me. "I don’t know… How can I not be worried about carrying a human life in my hands?”

I feel a warmth in my chest that’s melting away the fears and doubts. This right here is all it takes to realize that… yes. I can absolutely trust this girl.

After a brief pause Moira quickly adds, “I’ll be really careful. But you might need to walk me through it?"

I’m at a loss for words now, not at all prepared to give any kind of instruction. My initial experiences with getting picked up were completely at the whims of the titans who had shrunk me.

Aiden comes to rescue. “Just lay your hand flat right here," he says, clearing off Moira’s empty plate from the ottoman to give us some space.

She dutifully does so, palm side up, the tip of her fingers just an inch or two away from me. Her hand really is so much smaller than what I’m used to. The entire thing is only about as long as a hammock. For a moment I feel worried about climbing on, afraid of hurting her somehow, like trodding on someone’s foot. Until I remember how little I weigh.

I’m still nervous, but I remind myself that I’m way more used to this kind of thing than she is. In an effort to rip the bandaid off, I stroll forward as nonchalantly as I can, stepping onto her fingers and walking down the length of them. Her skin feels soft against my feet, and there’s a very subtle smell of almonds from whatever moisturizer she uses to combat the drying effect of working with clay every day.

“See?" I say, feeling a little self conscious as I stop at the center of her palm and smile up at her. “No big deal, right?”

Moira hasn’t moved at all, just looks at me with gentle awe. “I wouldn’t say that," she murmurs and matches my smile right back. I’d like to think that this is the moment our beautiful friendship officially began.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily I was grinning the whole time I read this chapter. I’m still grinning.

I don’t know where to start; okay, yes I do: Are you planning to recount the initial conversation between Aiden and Moira? Gotta be the most fraught discussion ever.

From the moment Aiden made his introduction, I was thinking, “Kneel down, get on her level.” Then Moira did!

If I ever got Aiden alone, I’d ask him if he thought Moira would be someone he’d introduce to Evie under normal circumstances, or if he thought Moira was somehow a better friend candidate under Evie’s reduced circumstances.

Forgive my anime ignorance, but I imagine there are other tiny-girl stories out there besides Arrietty. It would be hilarious if Moira had thought more about this topic than the average anime fan.

I am now eagerly anticipating when Aiden and Evie watch Ratatouille together and they come to the scene where Linguini wordlessly suggests that Remy hide in his pants and Remy wordlessly declines.

I remain in awe of how well Aiden must have prepared Moira for this encounter, so I have to imagine that he must have warned her that she might get to hold Evie in her hand. I’m so proud of all three of these bozos.

Moira POV chapter?

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Awww I’m so happy you liked Moira’s introduction! Up until then I was very used to only ever writing one-on-one interactions, so adding a new character to the cast felt really out of my comfort zone (still kinda does lol). Much less adding in a female character who’s not the tiny one! The story’s still very much focused on Aiden and Evie, but it was exciting to change up the status quo.

I don’t recount their entire first conversation, but they do still discuss Evie. That’s one of the bonuses of having a friend character, it gives the main characters someone to talk to about their feelings!

Yes, he picked Moira on purpose, since she’s so kind hearted and unintimidating. But he still would have introduced them regardless of her size, she’s one of his good friends It entertains me that if that were the case, Moira would have been considered the tiny one haha.

Ah man, this is the downside to writing things out in advance, since I can’t take suggestions now! Haha I love to imagine they’re all watching the movie, Aiden thinks he’s safe because it’s a kid movie about an effing rat, then they get to that scene and the poor guy can’t help putting Evie in his pants. Meanwhile the girls don’t think much of it and are just laughing, maybe Moira’s giving him a sarcastic elbow jab, while he’s turning beet red and regretting everything

No Moira POV chapters planned at the moment, there’s sort of a long con reason I’m switching between the 2 leads. But I could tootally see myself writing an offshoot bonus chapter at some point and switch up the POV!

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 23
Aiden

I feel elated at how well this is going. This entire thing has had me in a weird state of anxiety mixed with giddiness. It almost feels like I’ve spent so much time dreaming, only to realize that none of this is a dream at all. One of my good friends is here with me, and she sees it too – she can see and touch and talk to the impossibly tiny girl I’ve been sharing so much of my time with. The opportunity to finally tell someone else about this has filled me with a relief that I wasn’t expecting.

Evie and Moira gaze at each other for a few seconds, to the point that I feel like I’m intruding. And then it’s the shrunken one who pipes up to encourage the next step. “Want to try actually lifting me up?”

Moira looks extremely hesitant, her eyebrows curving more and more with concern. “I feel like I’m going to knock you over.”

“You might,” Evie laughs, “It’s okay if you do. But I’ve gotten better at balancing.”

There’s further hesitation, and I’m about to suggest that maybe Evie should sit down for this first time, but before I can, it happens. Moira’s summoned her courage enough to slowly raise her hand upwards, letting it hover an inch or two in the air. The take off is smooth, hardly destabilizing the smaller girl at all, and even as she lifts her hand higher and away from the ottoman Evie stays on her feet. I feel like I should be taking notes.

It’s almost funny how much I can relate as I watch Moira cup her fingers around the precious cargo and reflexively clutch her second hand underneath the first for extra stability. Seeing her look so nervous and hesitant certainly helps me realize how far I’ve come.

“Um. Okay. Can I put you down now?” she mumbles and I notice how tightly clenched her shoulders are. She looks like she’s regretting pulling Evie so far away from a stable surface.

“I’ve got her,” I offer, and I extend my arm, touching my fingertips to the bottom of Mo’s hand, like docking a spacecraft to create a steady bridge. Our little space cadet takes it from there, stepping to the edge of one hand to hop onto the other. Once the transfer’s done I pull away again and Moira lets her arms drop down with relief.

“You did great,” Evie says, flashing a grin and double thumbs-up, and with my free hand I add a third, larger thumbs-up too, eliciting laughter from our guest. Still, we’ve thrown a lot her way with this initial meeting and I can tell we might be pushing her close to her limit.

“I’ll walk you out,” I say, slowly getting to my feet. Moira’s eyes are fixed on my hand that’s occupied, clearly on the verge of fretting about the casual way I’m moving around. Evie speaks up then, snapping her out of it.

“It was so nice to meet you!”

“Y-yeah, likewise!” Moira responds with a smile.

I drop Evie back off at the desk and we share a quiet grin, a secret moment of celebration over the success of this meetup. I’m overjoyed to see that she’s genuinely come around, and I’m feeling more hope than I have in a long time.

I follow Moira through the door to walk her out of the building - she knows the way so she doesn’t need me there, but I figure we might want a few minutes of privacy. As soon as I shut the door to the apartment her smile drops and she covers her face with her hands. I go stiff, pausing while still holding the door handle. I’d been so caught up in my own excitement that this reaction takes me off guard.

“I’m awake right now?” she whispers, “All of that really just happened?”

I relax a little. Right. Of course she’s still coming to terms with it all. “Afraid so…” I mutter and put a hand on her back. “I know, it’s a little overwhelming.”

I’d prepared Moira to the best of my abilities. I asked her to meet me for lunch yesterday and we found a private place to eat outside. Out of all my friends I figured she was the most likely to believe me, but I still wasn’t sure how she would react. I told her the story from the beginning, and she didn’t quite laugh but just seemed so confused, wondering what on earth I was getting at with my ridiculous tale. It wasn’t until I showed her a video of Evie on my phone that she became very serious. She had many questions that I answered as well as I could. But nothing could have fully prepared her for seeing the impossibility in person.

Taking a tremulous breath in, she slides her hands off her face and touches the arm I’m supporting her back with, absently giving it a thankful pat before she starts walking down the hallway.

“She looked so scared of me…” Moira whimpers, “Not that I blame her.”

“She was nervous,” I acquiesce, keeping pace with her shorter gait. “But I could tell she likes you, she was loosening up a lot by the end of it. She looked a thousand times more scared of me in the beginning, I promise.”

“I can’t believe this has been going on for so long. How are you holding up?”

“Me? I’m fine. I’ve liked having her around. And she’s been adjusting pretty well, all things considered.”

“Thank you for trusting me with this…” She looks up at me with such sincerity that I want to give her a big ol’ hug right then and there. “I promise I’ll keep it to myself. I want to help however I can.”

I walk in silence for a couple of paces before I quietly tell her, “Honestly, Mo, she just really needs a friend right now. Someone other than me.”

We’ve reached the door to the parking garage where she has her car waiting, and she turns to face me with a soft smile. “I’m more than happy to try. You said she has a phone, right? Give her my number, she can text me whenever she wants. Oh and Aiden…” Her expression shifts to a bit of a frown as she reaches up to give me a light, quick jab in the chest. “Watch it with the grabby hands?”

My mouth opens and closes a couple of times as I reel back for a second. Finally I stutter out, “I-I’m really careful, I swear!”

“I’m sure you are. But it’s more than that… Just make sure not to disrespect her autonomy, you know? I can only imagine how helpless someone might feel that small. Maybe it doesn’t help if you don’t give her the chance to move a couple of inches on her own.”

I can feel color flooding into my cheeks, and at first I think it’s just me getting defensive about Moira jumping to conclusions the second she gets invited to the party. But the longer I stand here the more I realize the heat I’m feeling in my face is stemming from shame. I think Evie and I are on the same page when it comes to this stuff. But the thought that I might be disrespecting her in any way makes me feel sick to my stomach. Any frustration around unsolicited advice quickly deflates within me like a balloon with a leak. It might actually be a good thing to have a third party’s perspective…

"Maybe you’re right,” I finally concede. “Maybe I’ve been getting too comfortable…”

She shrugs. “And maybe I’m wrong. Probably good to double check though, yeah?” I must still look conflicted because she adds with a more gentle tone, “You’re a good guy, Aiden. I’m sure you’re handling things fine. I wouldn’t have even known where to start… Let me know if either of you need anything, alright?”

“Will do. It was good to see you.”

“You too, man. I get why you’ve been so absent now, but still, I’ve missed hanging out.”

I have to bend down low to give her a hug while she stands on her tiptoes. We wish each other goodnight and then I head back to the apartment. When I step inside I notice that Evie’s laying backwards on her bed, holding her pillow over her face, and I might have been worried if her feet weren’t fluttering excitedly.

“Did we break you?” I laugh as I sit down beside her.

She drops the pillow to reveal her eager expression, upside down from my perspective. “I think I’m in love.”

You and me both, I say silently. It feels so wonderful to see her overflowing with joy like this.

“Well then, I’ll start planning the wedding," I quip, beaming. “Yup… there’s a reason I picked her to introduce you to. Everyone loves Moira."

“Dammit. That means I’ll have competition in winning her heart…”

She’s clearly kidding around, but seeing her elation is starting to make me feel just a little bit jealous. I can’t help but want to check…

“You might have a chance, you know," I say, dragging the joke out a bit more, "She’s single, and I’m not actually sure she’s fully straight.”

Evie lets out a theatrical sigh, resting the back of her hand against her forehead. “Tragically, though, I am. I guess I’ll have to settle for friendship."

My stomach does a flip. We’ve never delved into past relationships or anything like that, so it’s not until now that I’ve gotten confirmation that she’s into men. Good to know. Whether she’s into men fifty times her own size is an entirely different matter.

“You didn’t tell me just how much we had in common," Evie says, getting into a seated position on her bed.

“I didn’t want to tell you everything, you’d have nothing to talk about," I counter.

“Fair.” She lets out a more subtle and natural sigh this time, a sweet smile at the ready. “I’m so glad you convinced me to do this.”

“Yeah… Me too.”

There’s a wistful part of me that’s mourning the fact that she’s no longer my little secret that I get to keep just for myself. I mean, her happiness is absolutely worth it, and I hope this is a step in the right direction. But in a way, I’m also going to miss it just being me and her all the time.

I reach out towards her to… I don’t even know, touch her arm or something, make some kind of contact. But I interrupt myself, suddenly feeling self conscious, and my hand halts its journey halfway across the desk. I think about the talk I just had in the parking garage and retract my arm.

“Does it bother you?” I ask quietly, “When I pick you up and stuff without asking first?”

Evie frowns. “Is this about what Moira said with the manhandling?”

I don’t pretend to hide it. “Yes. The more I think about it, the more I’m worrying that I’m not doing a good job at like… making sure you still have agency, I guess.”

I expect her to minimize the issue, to just casually wave me off and tell me it’s fine like she always does. I’m already preparing to insist and really make sure she’s not hiding her true feelings from me. But then…

“I like it.”

My next word dies in my throat, leaving emptiness in its wake. I just stare.

Evie starts fidgeting with the bedsheets and tries to clarify, “Not you removing my agency, but… I don’t know, I just don’t see it that way.” She pulls her legs towards her chest as she leans back, in a slightly precarious balance. “We’re in a really weird situation and are having to write the rules as we go. Who knows if we’re doing it right. But I know I’m fine with how we are. Honestly, when you hold me, I just feel… safe.”

My heart is thumping hard. The weight of what she’s saying is enough to pin me to the chair. Am I imagining the look in her eyes right now? The insinuation in her voice? Surely I’m not just hallucinating the blush on her cheeks or the way she’s biting her lip?

I almost cave. Almost say something I shouldn’t. Or maybe I should. But instead I just say, “Oh… All good, then.”

Conflicted, my hand retraces its journey across the desk, this time slinking around Evie’s bed and hovering just behind her back - she really does look like she might topple backwards if she loses her balance. She smiles and leans back further, gently trust-falling against my fingers.

With a lighter tone, she says, “Don’t tell Moira I have a girl crush, I was just being silly. I don’t want her to think I’m weird.”

I tip her back onto the bed, letting my fingertips linger against her shoulders. I’m not sure I can match her buoyant tone, but I try, and I hope my smile makes up for it. "Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”

[Olo]

@littlest-lily said:

Out of all my friends I figured she was the most likely to believe me

Of course this had to be the chief criterion. Aiden is smarter than me.

There’s a wistful part of me that’s mourning the fact that she’s no longer my little secret that I get to keep just for myself.

Oof, that’s gonna leave a mark.

I almost cave. Almost say something I shouldn’t. Or maybe I should. But instead I just say, “Oh… All good, then.”

I know this is an unprecedented crazy situation, Aiden, but the correct response is, “I like holding you, too.”

It’s a three-way race to see who will first call Aiden on his feelings for Evie, and honestly I have no idea who will win (or who I want to win).

[littlest-lily]

@Olo He’s so worried about causing undue pressure with a confession that he’s missing any opportunity that comes up!

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 24
Evie

“How aboouut…. what’s your favorite dessert? I think for me it’s tiramisu.”

That’s a good question. I ponder for a minute before typing out a response:

“I don’t know if I can pick! Probably something basic, like a really good brownie or chocolate chip cookie. Ok ok here’s one. I’m super into board games - which one’s your favorite?”

I hit send and step back as I glance up at the rest of our texts with satisfaction. It’s so strange seeing the many messages labeled “Evie Ondine” alongside all those marked “Moira Wynne.” I haven’t had a long text chat with a friend like this in a while. I’m still a pretty slow typer, but I’ve gotten way better at using the phone over time and I’m doing well at keeping up with this conversation.

It’s been another cleaning day so we’re back down on the floor for a change of pace. Aiden’s laying on his stomach next to me, in deep concentration as he works on some lesson plans for his TA job. I scamper back over to what I’ve been occupying myself with outside of chatting with Moira - I’ve got my textbook from my Construction Technology class and am doing my own studying. Well, it’s less of a book and more of a laminated spiral journal. This actually makes it easier for me to turn the pages since they’re so stiff - I’m able to lift a plastic sheet on the outside edge and push it over my head as I make my way towards the spiral binding.

Sometimes I’m not sure why I even bother studying anymore. The end of the semester is quickly approaching and I have no idea if or when I’ll ever be able to go back to school. But thinking about that means thinking about the long term, which I’ve been refusing to do. At least studying keeps me occupied.

Still… I get bored of it so quickly. I perk up excitedly every time I hear the buzz from my phone that lets me know Moira’s responded, giving me a quick distraction.

“I’m not sure if it counts but I really like Pictionary. I’m probably biased since I like to draw :p"

Before I get a chance to respond, another text soon comes in.

“FYI the first students for the night are starting to trickle in so I need to put my phone away. Have a good night!”

I hurry to text her a “Good night!” back and sigh in disappointment. So much for that distraction. I look up at Aiden, his massive form hulking just beside me. He’s been at it for a while, maybe a short break wouldn’t be so bad…

His laptop lies next to him and he occasionally refers to it as he works. I make my way to it, hopping onto the edge of the keyboard and padding my way along while avoiding stepping on the keys. I’m about to call out to him, but that’s when he turns back to the computer again. He reaches a hand to the trackpad with his eyes fixed on the screen, until he suddenly notices me standing on the laptop. He breathes in sharply through his nose and yanks his arm back, obviously startled, and I wave my hands at him apologetically.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

“All good,” he says with a growing smirk and then repositions himself so that he’s laying on his side, propping his head up with one hand. “You getting tired of studying?”

I look off to the side sheepishly. “So?”

“I can put you back on the desk if you want access to your stuff.”

“No, I don’t mind being down here, I like the change of scenery…”

He frowns sympathetically. “Sorry, I wish it wasn’t raining or I’d have taken you outside today.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I insist, now very much feeling like a bother. “I wanted to ask - do you have any board games here? Moira and I were just talking about them, I do miss playing.”

"Yeah, I’ve got a couple, all stuff from when I was younger… I think I have a checkers set, Ticket to Ride, Battleship… maybe Clue?”

“Think we could do a game night sometime?” I ask hopefully. “I could probably at least play Battleship.”

He nods and leans in a little closer. “Totally! I bet you could play all of them, we should give it a shot. Uhhh maybe not tonight though, I really have to get this done. Sometime this weekend sound good?”

“Absolutely! Okay I’ll leave you alone now.”

“Okay… even though I don’t waaaant you to,” he whines, letting his head sink onto his lesson plans on the floor.

This lifts my spirits a little bit, knowing he’d rather be spending time with me instead. I jump back off the computer and edge a little closer to his face. “You can do it! You’ve already gotten so much accomplished today, you’re almost done!” I raise an arm up to him, offering him a high-five. “You got this!”

As I’m cheering him on he tilts his head to watch my approach, giving me an appreciative smile. He slides a hand over to me to touch his index finger to my outstretched palm. “Go team,” he says weakly. Not needing to be as careful as him, I give his fingertip an enthusiastic slap before I finally leave and give him his space.

I make a halfhearted attempt to go back to my textbook, but after a few minutes I still feel so restless… I decide to wander the apartment instead. I actually haven’t done much of this since it’s rare that I’m on the floor. I’m still pretty intimidated by the wide open spaces in this canyon-like room, and I’m finding myself drawn to the structures within it. I first walk the perimeter of the ottoman, which looms above me like a mansion within a stadium. Soon I find myself between the ottoman and the couch and notice that I would be able to fit underneath either one of them with ease… I’d be really good at playing hide and seek right now.

As I wander along the edge of the couch, something on the floor ahead of me catches my attention. I quicken my pace curiously and realize it’s a stain of some kind. I crouch down to carefully touch it, and it’s a little sticky. Figuring out that it’s a few drops of tomato sauce, I’m confused at first. We hardly ever eat on the couch, does this stain predate me being here? And then I remember that we did have dinner here once, that night a few weeks ago when we got Greek takeout. This is totally from that green bean dish.

Maybe it’s the fact that I feel partly responsible, but I want to clean this up. I rack my brain as I make my way to the end of the couch, determined to figure this out on my own. What kind of cleaning supplies could I use at this size?

Far ahead of me is the kitchen island, and I know that if I walk along the leftmost wall, Aiden’s room is just around the corner. Could he have anything in there that would work? Then again, I feel a little awkward just waltzing into his bedroom like that. I’ve hardly been in there outside of day one when he gave me a tour of the place. Across from his bedroom and next to the kitchen is his bathroom… Maybe there’s something there I could use.

I reach the edge of the wall and I’ll need to cross some open space to get to my destination. I look around as if I’m at a traffic light and about to cross the freeway. Aiden’s still in the same spot, back to being very concentrated. I make a run for it, dashing across the floor until it becomes tile. I huddle against the doorway for a moment, tilting my neck back to get the lay of the land.

To my right is one enormous blank wall, like a cream-colored cliff. On the left is where all the structures are, and I stroll past the looming cabinets, almost disappointed with how tidy it is in here. Soon I’m coming up to the enormous toilet, and just past that is where I catch sight of something that I think will do. There’s a toilet paper holder, and at the bottom of the tower I have easy access to the heavy white rolls.

I hurry over to the hay bale-like cylinders and find the seam. The way it tears is a little messy since I can’t reach the top of the roll, but I manage to acquire one large square of paper, which I fold up to make it easier to carry.

I continue looking around, turning hopefully to the shower-bath combo that’s just past the toilet. There doesn’t seem to be any soap or water that I can access, though. Maybe I can still make a difference with dry paper… but let’s go on one last journey first.

As eager as a traveler who’s just received a new quest, I exit the bathroom and line the wall to my left so that I can make the trek down the length of the kitchen island. Actually, it’s more of a peninsula since it’s attached to the wall, meaning I have quite the obstacle to circumvent if I want to make it into the kitchen proper.

On my walk I look towards the giant in the living room, who’s appearing quite statue-like from here. I wonder if he’s even noticed that I’ve been wandering around. If he stood up, surely he’d still be able to hear me down here, right? I don’t linger too much on this line of thinking, figuring that as long as I don’t just hang out in open spaces I should be just fine.

After a couple of minutes I’ve finally made it into the kitchen itself, and I’m starting to get a crick in my neck from having to look so far up all the time. The height of all these constructs is dizzying. This area is also pretty tidy, and the cupboard under the sink that houses the cleaning supplies is unfortunately closed. But then I spot something and run over to it excitedly.

There’s a chunk of ice on the floor, already half melted, just by the fridge. I doubt Aiden even noticed that it fell down here, but to me it’s like unexpected treasure I’ve found on my adventure. The piece of ice that’s intact is pretty sizeable, as big as a beach ball, and I hoist it up with some difficulty out of its puddle. It’s painfully cold to the touch, and I remind myself that I really do need to make myself some gloves.

I drop the ice off onto the toilet paper sheet I’ve been carrying and wrap it up in a double layer. Then I hoist it onto my back like it’s a knapsack and begin the journey all the way back to the couch.

By the time I get there my back is cold and wet, the ice chunk melting quickly against the heat of my body. I waste no time in utilizing the moistened paper, rubbing away fervently at the tomato stain in little circles. Some soap would have made this a lot easier, but a bit of extra elbow grease seems to slowly be doing the trick.

After a good fifteen minutes or so I’m almost finished with my little cleaning project, when I hear and see Aiden moving in the distance, although the view is mostly blocked by the ottoman. He sits up and stretches his arms over his head before rolling his stiff neck and shoulders. From the back I see his head turn to one side and then the other.

“Evie? Where’d you go?”

“Behind you!” I yell, and when he turns his head not quite far enough I add, “By the couch!”

He follows the sound of my voice, pivoting to peer over the structure that separates us. He spots me and smiles, settling his arms onto the ottoman as he regards me with amusement.

“What are you up to?” he asks.

I hold up the toilet paper to show him the orange stain on it. “You missed a spot.”

Aiden laughs and lowers his head down to rest his chin on his arms. He then says something that takes me by surprise. “That is so sweet.”

I balk with mock outrage, thinking he’s poking fun at me. “What did you just call me?” I exclaim, dropping the paper and putting my hands on my hips.

But he’s not quite going along with the joke, instead softening his gaze and the tone of his voice. “I’m saying that I appreciate the help. You really could just coast by and let me take care of everything, I wouldn’t blame you. But you keep wanting to pitch in whatever way you can. It’s really sweet and I don’t take it for granted.”

There’s a fluttering in my stomach and I struggle to look him in the eye. His earnestness is too much for me right now. Seriously, since when did he start making me blush all the time? My flippant response feels dissonant as I go back to scrubbing at the stain.

“I mean, no one likes a lazy roommate… and I sure don’t want to get kicked out.”

A crease appears between Aiden’s eyebrows. He looks like he’s about to say something and then stops himself, face smoothing out again. He opts to match my lighthearted tone instead.

“Well with you around, this place is going to be extra clean, that’s for sure.”

“Uh huh. Not a speck of dirt on my watch.” I sit back up, wiping the back of my arm on my forehead as I admire my handiwork. It’s not much of an accomplishment, but I do feel rather proud of myself.

That is, until I realize I can’t fully clean up. I’m still holding a wet wad of toilet paper, and I have zero ideas around how to dispose of it by myself. I stare at this one last hindrance as I hold it, a pang of frustration making my shoulders droop.

Aiden seems to pick up on what’s bothering me, and he casually reaches off to the side, close to where the desk is. There’s a small wicker trash can there, currently empty, and he gives it a little shove while still looking my way. It teeters before toppling onto its side, a wide tunnel crashing to the floor.

“Oops,” my giant friend says with a smile, “Clumsy me.”

I’ll take the silliness over nothing. I drag the wet wad the short distance to the trash can and hurl it inside. Aiden quickly rights it again as if nothing had happened.

“Look at that. All on your own.”

I wrinkle my nose at him, and I wonder if I should actually be annoyed with the slightly condescending gesture. But his clearly caring intention wins me over. I’ll count this chore as a success.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Aiden could clearly benefit from taking a class or two (probably online) about caring for disabled people. They emphasize that preserving dignity applies to the caregiver, as well. People can tell when someone is walking on eggshells around them, and they generally don’t like it.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Evie probably shouldn’t investigate stains on the bedroom floor.